


University & Society

by Bigjumpervibes



Category: Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: AU - Daiya is alive, Alternate Universe - College/University, Chihiro's pronouns develop as we move on, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, He/she/they pronouns for Chihiro, I'm glad as a fandom we decided Daiya is cool and hot, Leon is tired, M/M, Slow Burn, gender fluid Chihiro, tw drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:40:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 65,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28391814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bigjumpervibes/pseuds/Bigjumpervibes
Summary: Ishimaru is a Politics student minoring in Economics and is about to enter his 2nd year in University. He intends to change the campus for the better for as many students as possible.Mondo just wants to complete his degree for his brother and get the hell out of there.The Danganronpa group if they went to University.Non-Dispair AUNo. of chapters may change.More tags may be added as we go.
Relationships: Ishimaru Kiyotaka & Oowada Mondo, Ishimaru Kiyotaka/Oowada Mondo, Kuwata Leon/Maizono Sayaka, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 146
Kudos: 284





	1. New Housemate

“So when does this new girl get here?”

“The text says 1pm”

“S-So that s-should be any-y minute?”

“Yep!” Hina is excited. Today they would get a new housemate for their student house which was desperately needed since Toko had been fretting all week which caused Sayaka’s happy go lucky personality to flatter as she bit back replies and Kyoko could only do so much to mediate the group so yes! This new girl was much needed! 

As the captain of the swim society Hina was highly aware of team dynamics, maybe this new girl would be nice and calm, someone who could balance out Toko’s nervousness and keep spirits high. Oh it would be great to have someone who liked sports too! Then she could recruit them into her society… And maybe she would get on with Sakura too! That would be great! Oh but… Wasn’t their degree Politics and Economics?

Hmmm if that was the case maybe they would be like Byakuya, gross. Hopefully not, this new girl could just want to change the world for the better? Or have an interest in being a future leader? That would be cool too, she’d probably get on with Kyoko then and Toko to an extent.

“W-what do y-you think they’re like?” Toko really needed to relax didn’t she?

“Come on Toko! I’m sure she’ll be great!” Hina quickly moved to the brunette’s side giving her a quick pat on the back.

“Yeah! And I bet she’s cute!” Sayaka jumped up and down excitedly, she was probably hoping for someone to get ready with before nights out and talk all things pop culture to.

The new girl could be like that… Maybe the politics interest stemmed from an interest in celebrities and news. That would also be great! That way Sayaka would have someone to gossip with and Hina would be able to have a break from faking an interest, not that she wasn’t interested but it wasn’t what she wanted to talk about all the time. 

“It’s unreasonable to make any assumptions on their appearance” 

Well Kyoko was right, all they had to go off was:

1\. They were also in their 2nd year of university  
2\. They were studying Politics and minoring in Economics  
3\. And that they would arrive at 1pm

**-Knock knock knock-**

“That’ll be her!” Aoi practically squealed running to the front door. Whoever this mystery girl is she was sure they would fit in great! She swung the door open with glee.

“Hello! Wel…” Huh? “-come?”

“Hello! My name is Kiyotaka Ishimaru! Nice to meet you!” A guy saluted? 

“T-T-That can’t be right!” Toko said over her shoulder, she seemed to be just as confused as her.

“I assure you it is! I triple checked the location and contract! I will be moving into room 4 at this address” Ishimaru explained as he rummaged through his pocket before producing a piece of paper and passed it to Aoi. Why didn’t the landlord mention it would be a guy?!

“Ummm, I guess come in?” She passed the paper to Kyoko since she would be the best person piece everything together and went to help with the bags.

“No no, it’s quite alright I will bring them in” He dismissed her picking up the bags as they all moved to the living room.

Taking a look at each of the other girls she realized they all were in their own stage of accepting this. Toko was definitely in denial, she looked like someone had just told her Byakuya was already engaged, in fact she looked a bit angry too. They better watch that. Sayaka was in bargaining, she seemed to be trying to convince the guy that the room was too small and that he wouldn’t enjoy it however he seemed quite determined and was having none of it. Hina herself was in a sort of depression, she was looking forward to having a new girl and wanted to have someone she could bond with personally, not that Ishimaru seemed awful but he was weird? He wasn’t going to have the affect on the group that she had wanted. And finally Kyoko seemed to be in the stage of acceptance, she nodded reading something on her phone while returning the paper to it’s rightful owner.

“He is indeed correct, I just checked with Monokuma Letting and Ishimaru is to be our new housemate” Kyoko stated now that they were all sat in the living room.

Ishimaru had been offered the armchair whereas the other girls where spread amongst the two couches, Kyoko and Aoi on one, and Toko and Sayaka on the other. 

“Umm I guess welcome to the house then! My name is Aoi Asahina but you can call me Hina! Oh! I study Sport Science!” She reclaimed her positive gleam and waved at the man who nodded and gave a stiff wave back. 

“I’m Kyoko Kirigiri and I’m studying Criminal Psychology” 

“Ah, the head’s-?”

“Correct, I’m his daughter” Kyoko nodded with her arms folded, if Ishimaru was offended he didn’t show it.

“I’m Sayaka Maizono! I’m studying Performing Arts and Music” She flashed her usual smile which made guys drop to their knees but interestingly this guy didn’t seem phased. Surely, he knew who she was? Her band was famous around the universities in this part of the country.

“E-Err I’m Toko Fukawa-a… I-I’m studying English L-Literature?” Was she asking him?

“It is a pleasure to meet you all and I must apologise my arrival came as a surprise! I promise to do all within my power to make you all feel comfortable during my time here” Ishimaru shouted and then finished by standing up to bow.

A small chuckled left her lips, what was this guy on? He was so… Stiff? Cautious? Polite? Uptight? Around the room the other girls seemed just as bemused, Kyoko twitched the corner of her lips for a split second, Toko stopped grimacing instead opting to turn away with a frown and Sayaka smiled while pulling out her phone to begin texting. Maybe this guy would be alright.

“In that case! Let me show you your room!” Hina bounced up taking his arm and dragging him towards the stairs.

“Very well!” 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Leon yawned as he flipped through the TV channels, there really was fuck all on. Looking around the living room from the armchair he draped himself over he spotted Yasuhiro mirroring his position on the other matching chair, he snickered watching the stoner trying to balance his phone on his nose just to have it whack him in the face. Mondo was in the kitchen if the clashing and cursing was anything to go by, maybe he’d be able to steal some of whatever he was making. On the coach Hifumi was staring creepily at a manga, probably some big titted chick had made an appearance, Makoto peered over his shoulder and turned hella red so looks like Leon was right yet again. 

**-Bzzt bzzt-**

He fished his phone out his pocket. Sayaka? Hell yeah… Wait…

“No fucking way!” He mumbled.

“What dude?” 

“Fuck! Who used all the fuckin’ soy sauce?” Mondo shouted.

“NO FUCKING WAY!” Leon exclaimed louder trying to be the centre of attention. These guys never paid attention to him when he needed them to.

“What ya shoutin’ ‘bout now?” The biker grumbled walking back into the room with bowl filled with… Beef stir fry? Ooo, he had to nab some later but right now there were more pressing matters. 

“It’s a dude!” Leon held up his phone pointing at the screen.

“Whats a dude dude?” Hiro giggled at his own phrasing. 

“The girl’s new housemate!”

“WHAT?” All four men said in unison. Finally!

“That can’t be right! That’s so perverse!” Hifumi exclaimed as his own glasses steamed up. Ew.

“It’s not that weird…” Makoto defended?

“Err YES IT IS MAKOTO!” The redhead shouted looking at the other boy like he was dumb because he obviously was if was saying that! “That place is meant to be GIRLS ONLY, and like If I knew they were accepting dudes I would have been there!”

“Lucky guy” Yasuhiro said closing his eyes and putting a hand to his chin.

“Mondo! Get your bike we need to check it out! What if this guy is a perv like Hifumi said?!” These guys were all lame, Mondo was the only one who was on the same level as him. 

“Ready when you are” Hell yeah, he looked just as pissed. Man code was the best code.

“I-I’m also coming!” The fatass exclaimed. Errr well he wouldn’t also fit on the bike idiot.

“We’ll take my car, which you guys could also use y’know?” Of course good guy Makoto would jump at the opportunity to be the hero.

“Dumbass how is your volvo gonna intimidate anyone?” Mondo growled. At least someone was cool.

“Don’t you think we’re overreacting?” What was with Makoto? Didn’t he get the issue?

“NO!” The other three yelled.

“God’s speed my dudes, I have a prediction that someone will fall in love with the new guy” Hiro shouted just in time for them to hear before they shut the door. WHAT?! It better not be Sayaka!

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“And I can promise you I will respect your boundaries so we can all enjoy our educational pursuits!” Taka repeated as himself and Aoi- No she wanted to be called Hina right? As himself and Hina came back down the stairs after putting his stuff away “I will do everything in my power to prove this to you!”

“Well, that’s quite considerate of you Taka” She said while patting his arm as they returned to the living room to sit with the others again.

“Hmm-M!” Ah his new nickname! Taka… Short and sweet! He liked it and felt a swill of pride that he’d managed to earn such an honour so quickly. 

“I’m very sorry for the distress this has brought you all!” He bowed to the group of women again, Hina had mentioned to him why this was such a surprise and he was horrified to know he had infiltrated the ‘Girls’ house without knowing. No wondered they were worried! 

“No it’s okay, we were just shocked” His new friend? Maybe he couldn’t call her a friend yet, chimed as she looked to the others “You seem like a nice guy”

“Yeah! Just a little intense!” Sayaka was it? Added.

**-Knock knock knock-**

Who could this be? Sayaka jumped to her feet, seems she was expecting someone. He moved further into the room and let her slip pass him so she could welcome the new guests in. This could be another opportunity for him to make new connections.

“Where the FUCK is the new guy?” A gruff low voice questioned. How rude! 

“Language!” He instinctively reprimanded and heard a group of footsteps make there way towards the living room.

“So you’re the FUCKER?!”

‘Another curse’ Ishimaru thought to himself as a he saw the new intruders come around the corner. One was a tall muscular man with a leather coat draped over his shoulders and pompadour hairstyle, he looked like a stereotypical ‘bad boy’. This was obviously the man who had been swearing and shouting. His eyes were a calm shade of lilac but held a fire of anger and violence in them, if his expression wasn’t so contorted into a scowl Kiyotaka MIGHT even say he was attractive. 

“Get ‘im Mondo!” Behind the taller man was a shorter redhead with a hideous goatee, the two of them together looked like a hyena pepping up a tiger to attack. He was dressed in some version of fashionable attire, but had piercings littering his ears. Another ruffian. 

There were two more boys behind these two but they seemed meeker. One was glaring at him, a portly guy with round glasses, he seemed angry like the other two but too nervous to actually do anything without the right motivation. Not a threat. The last one seemed to be embarrassed by the other three ‘with good reason’ Ishimaru thought, this man was in some sweats, a hoodie and sported a untamed mop of hair which framed a worried expression. He might have the only brain between the group.

“What ya lookin’ at you freak?”

“A man who resorts to violence because he’s not capable of thinking of anything else” As soon as he finished his sentence he saw the fire flare in lavender eyes and immediately he was shoved up against the wall by rough hands. Gasps filled the room.

“You’ve got fuckin’ balls I’ll give you that!” The low voice thundered.

“Let go of me you delinquent!” What was wrong with this man? Was fighting like this normal for him? He reached out to hold the others wrists to keep from bruising his shoulders, he wasn’t strong enough to get the grip off without more movement which could end up hurting someone innocent but he was more then strong enough to lessen the other’s impact. A brief look of surprise flashed across the other man’s face before the furious glare returned.

“WHO THE FUCK YOU CALLIN’ A DELINQENT?!”

“You! Are you as stupid as you are bloodthirsty?! You barged into a house and started a fight!”

“YOU DIC---” Both men tightened their grip until a small hand grabbed each of their arms.

“ENOUGH! Let go of him Mondo!” Hina yelled trying to apply some pressure to both of them.

“But he’s the one-!” The grip loosened dramatically, enough so that Ishimaru could stand on his own feet fully however the contact remained.

“He’s our new housemate and hasn’t done anything wrong” She sighed before pushing them both away from each other and standing in front of Ishimaru “It’s our landlord, he didn’t mention he’d be advertising the house as Co-ed” 

“Still it’s not fucking right!” The redhead chipped in.

“Calm down Leon! Kiyotaka has been very pleasant so far!” Sayaka now joined in which seemed to have the same affect as putting a dog on lease.

As some brief squabbling carried on Ishimaru looked at his assailant again. So Mondo was his name. From his grip and what he could see of his physique he was strong; he was built like he was born to fight, Ishimaru briefly wondered if he was a boxer. And that’s when their eyes met again, crimson and lavender, both intense and both full of emotions. He let himself wonder if just for a second what those eyes would look like with a happier emotion filling them, yes, he thinks that would be nice.

“B-but what if this is all an act and he is a pervert!” A high pitched nasally voice broke his train of thought as he looked over to the student with glasses.

“I would never do anything like that!” Ishimaru said for the third time today, he would repeat it as much as he needed to.

“Well of c-course you would say that!” 

“Look!” Kyoko entered the conversation pitching the bridge of her nose and scrunching her eyes shut, she looked like she had a headache “There is no evidence that he would do such a thing, in fact there is no crime that has even been committed” She opened her eyes again and darted a look at Mondo and the redhead, Sayaka called him Leon? “We should stop wasting time and you should leave so we can better evaluate his character” 

“Errrr that’s what we’re doing dumb dumb!” Leon shot back.

“No! You’re not! You’re just shouting at him for no reason!” Hina interrupted poking Leon in the chest.

“Tch! Fine but we got eyes on ‘im” Mondo muttered.

“Great” Sayaka chirped “If there is an issue we’ll come to you first, ‘kay?”

“Fuckin’ arsehole” Mondo looked him in the eye again, walked up and pushed him into the wall as he walked past going towards the door.

“Pfft good one Mondo” Leon followed throwing an arm over the bigger guys shoulder.

“We’ll be watching for your good guy mask to slip Mr! Mr…?” The chubby guy began. 

“Kiyotaka Ishimaru” He supplied.

“Mr Ishimaru!”

“Dumb name! Loser!” Leon heckled at a distance.

“It is not! My parents chose this name for me to give it reason and worth!” He shouted back.

“Like anyone would fall in love with that” Why was Mondo talking about love?

“Yeah Hiro’s well off as usual”

As they started to leave there was one member of their group left behind, he nervously looked at Ishimaru.

“I’ll apologise for those guys, their pretty hot headed” He was rubbing the back of his neck and looking elsewhere, he almost appeared ashamed as he spoke about the others. This boy was not the same as the others and Ishimaru could appreciate his efforts. He finally met his eyes and offered him the hand he’d been rubbing his neck with “My name is Makoto Naegi” 

“Nice to meet you Mr Naegi!” Kiyotaka took it giving him a strong handshake.

“Makoto is fine! Anyway, have fun unpacking!” Makoto smiled as he left giving a small wave to the women in the room before closing the door.

The girls all gave a collected sigh. Kiyotaka wondered if they were used to this since none of them had made any attempts to call the police during the encounter. He hoped those guys wouldn’t be regular guests, especially the leather clad one.

“Sorry ‘bout them, they can be asses sometimes” Hina put a hand on his shoulder.

“Please reframe from letting them bring you down to their level with curse words Hina, I will also apologise I didn’t do more to defuse the situation”

“Don’t be silly Taka! Look, let’s eat tea together as our apology for the boys behaviour!” Sayaka clapped happily.

“Thank you for the offer Miss Maizono, I’ll accept having tea together so that we can deepen our bonds as housemates!” He bowed before looking at the group of women with a sterner expression “I will not however allow you to make up for their behaviour, I will forgive them once they do the necessary steps to atone for their actions!”

The group looked a little surprised by his statement but he soon saw small smiles and nods at his words.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Can you believe that guy!” Leon shouted as he flopped down on his chair from before.

Mondo was still high on adrenaline and pounded up the stairs, he couldn’t be arsed listening to Leon regale Yasuhiro with stories about that dick. No right now he wanted to seethe in his room and then call his brother.

Slamming his door shut he punched the wall letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. That fucker! That red eyed fucker! Who the hell did he think he was talking to him like that! He kicked the wall a few more times before he had to throw off his jacket, it was way too hot here, did someone turn the heating on or something? 

Kiyotaka Ishimaru. His name even sounded annoying and his voice, his fucking voice. It was so loud and irritating, Mondo could imagine him yelling disciplinaries and commanding people to stay in line, and it made his blood boil. 

He grabbed his phone and began dialling an all too familiar number. Surely Daiya would be able to help him sort this out. A couple rings and he was through. 

“Hey Bro, I need to talk to ya”

_“What have you done now? I told ya that YOU gotta represent our name and get a degree! If you’ve fucked that up bro-“_

“I haven’t fucked anything! Would ya shut it and let me talk?! Geez” 

_“Fine, ya got 20 minutes, what is it lil’ bro?”_

Mondo proceeded to tell his bro about this dick that had riled him up so bad, what he had the guts to do, how he had grabbed his wrists, how he had talked back to him, how he had got him so worked up. There was no way he wouldn’t agree with him that he needed to teach this guy a lesson.

_“Does he have pigtails?”_

“What?” What the fuck? “No, the fuck ya on ‘bout bro?”

_“Just wondered if you wanted to tug on those while you’re at it”_

“What?” Had his brother gone mad? What was he on about?

_“Figure it out dumbass, now take a cold shower and get ya ass back to studyin’”_

“You ain’t helped me with shit!”

_“FIGURE IT OUT DUMBASS”_

He hung up? What the fuck?

Mondo punched the wall again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loving Taka? It's more likely than you think
> 
> Here are my rough notes I used to write this chapter:  
> \- Girls house getting new room mate  
> \- Taka Arrives  
> \- Everyone like BOY??  
> \- Sayaka messages Leon  
> \- Boys house like BOY?  
> \- All rush over  
> \- Everyone meets Taka  
> \- Boys house laugh  
> \- Girls house like Taka (ish)


	2. Challenge Accepted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the week goes on Kiyotaka has the opportunity to meet the other house (Chihiro, Sakura, Celestia, Junko and Mukuro). Things go as well as expected.
> 
> Mondo is busy planning what to do next, he needed to sort this guy out.

“Ummm… You’re Kiyotaka?” 

“The very same! Nice to meet you all!” The boy shouted with a smile. He seems… Loud… But normal? “Oh! And you can call me Taka if you wish!”

Chihiro squinted as if that would help him see Taka’s character better, didn’t Mondo say this guy was a self-righteous, loud-mouthed, judgemental killjoy? He could agree loud-mouthed seemed to fit but Chihiro had been expecting someone more like Byakuya with how much Mondo had droned on about him. He moved to grab his phone and started texting.

_Chi: He seems normal?_

_Mon-Mon: WTF? HES A ASSHOLE CHI_

_Chi: *An_

_Chi: He’s literally pouring Sakura protein coffee?_

_Mon-Mon: AN ASSHOLE_

Putting down the device, he watched as the new guy started tending to the others needs while introducing himself. When Hina had invited their house over to meet their new housemate they were all pretty shocked by the dude’s passionate atmosphere but so far he hadn’t done anything to make anyone hate him. What had he done to Mondo and Leon for them to start slandering him? …Not that they were the best sources for unbiased information… Chihiro had to roll his eyes at that.

“Well acquainted Mr Ishimaru” Celestia held her hand out while hiding her expression behind a teacup with the other. Chihiro didn’t know whether to trust her words, although Taka seemed to as he gave her a graceful handshake “I study History”

“Very interesting! There is a lot that can be learnt by looking into the past! I assume you also like Victorian décor!”

“You would be correct” It sounded like she was smiling.

“I’m Sakura Oogami, I study Sport Education” Sakura on the other hand wasn’t smiling, more like assessing his character. Not surprising with Leon blabbering on about him being a perv.

“Nice to meet you Mr Oogami!” Oh no Taka.

“I’m a girl” Sakura informed.

“W-What!? I AM SO SORRY! Please forgive me! Hit me if you’d like!” Okay perv couldn’t be ruled out yet…

“That won’t be necessary” She sighed showing a little aggravation “It’s happened before”

“That does not make it right! No, I will punish myself on your behalf for this error!” Ishimaru exclaimed as he hung his head in shame. Sayaka did mention he was intense.

“Like, don’t sweat it mister! Unless you like, want a big girl beating you down?” Junko grinned in a seductive tone as she entered the discussion obviously trying to make the situation worse “Is that what you wanted all along? A little bit of a masochist, hmm?”

They really shouldn’t have brought the twins with them. They were more a 2nd or 3rd meeting deal. Junko was now leaning over the coffee table trying to put more fuel on the fire by pointing her cleavage in the poor guy's direction, Chihiro grimaced, she would eat most men alive.

“I do not! I did not! And I don’t know what that means!” Taka answered all of her questions before he reached for a napkin and held it up like a bull fighter? Oh! He was using it to cover her boobs from his view “Please! Miss! I know it is not my place nor is it anyone else’s place to tell you how to dress in your spare time however, seeing your chest and undergarments is making me feel uneasy so I must ask you to please sit down again!”

And she did? That’s a first, though she was snickering.

“What a good boy! You’ll be fun to play with!” Now that was something you didn’t want to hear from Junko “My name is Junko Enoshima and next me is Mukuro Ikusaba!” 

Mukuro nodded “Junko studies Textiles and I’m studying Psychology”

The man nodded stiffly obviously not recovered yet. 

“I guess that leaves me? Hi, I’m Chihiro Fuijisaki and I study Computer Science” Chihiro smiled sympathetically.

“Miss Fuijisaki, it is a pleasure” Taka nodded. Another miss gender but Chihiro couldn’t blame him for that one.

“You guys all getting along?” A cheery Hina bounced into the living room holding a tray of snacks, around 50% were donuts and the rest where a mixture of crisps and chocolates.

“I think so!” Kiyotaka exclaimed regaining the smile he had before. Wow this guy was resilient “Oh! I’m studying Politics and Economics, I forgot to mention that!” 

“Boooooring!” Very nice Junko “Why bother with something like that? Do you really think it’ll make a difference? Or do you just want to make a quick buck while doing fuck all?”

“Language!” He stood up telling her off, Mondo did mention he had a thing against swearing.

Taka briefly looked hurt before he straightened out his posture and looked at them all with a determination Chihiro only saw from protagonists in video games.

“And I do in fact… I believe that having the right person in power can change the world for the better! Everyone deserves a voice, a place or a choice to be involved in a society that accepts them!” He was really fired up! “Corruption has tainted the rules and structure that was meant to allow people to grow and flourish together, I will do my best to support the public in claiming back the power taken away from them!”

Chihiro thought, for a fleeting second, that he looked like a good leader.

“HAHAHAHA” Junko’s laugh was as loud as it was unwanted as she hit the table “GOOD ONE TAKA! Hahaha… Oh my god I haven’t laughed like that in a whiiiiiiile” She wiped a fake tear from her eye “Thanks but if it’s all the same, I’m out of here! Not all about this vibe you’re layin’ down”

Junko stood up brushing her pleated skirt down and started to leave, her sister following in tow. A donut was thrown in their general direction as the door shut, no prizes for guessing where that came from. They really soured the mood and by the looks of the women in the room Chihiro wasn’t the only one who was annoyed by their disturbance, maybe he would change the Wi-Fi password without telling them when he got home.

“Don’t listen to them Taka! I liked your speech!” Hina pushed the tray closer to him as a dejected looking Ishimaru sat back down.

“I just want to make a difference… I need to” He muttered reaching for a donut.

“I believed you” The programmer smiled reassuringly and soon there was a small murmur of agreement across the room. Bringing out his phone Chihiro mentally prepared for the responses he’d get after this text.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Chi-Chi: I like him_

What. The. Fuck.

_Mon: U fuckin what_

_Mon:???_

_Mon: CHI_

‘And now he’s blanking me?’ What the actual fuck?

“Chihiro likes him…” Mondo gloomily muttered.

“Dang, this Taka’s popular with the ladies” Yasuhiro snickered.

“Shut it Hiro!” Leon shouted at Hiro who just shrugged in response “Well Junko texted me saying he’s a pussy” 

“Junko thinks everyone’s a pussy” Makoto needed to shut up.

Mondo threw his phone on the table and let his head drop on the back of the couch. First, they had all the girls bitchin’ that they were out of order for roughing up the new guy. WHICH. Mondo might add, they didn’t even do! All he did was hold him against a wall, that would do fuck all. And now he was fuckin’ sucking up to the members of the other house, this guy was manipulative as shit.

“H-He’s making the moves on my lady Celestia! That scoundrel!” The nerd screamed. Ugh, as if Mondo had to be on the same side as this guy.

“We need to put a fuckin’ stop to this ASAP!” Leon yapped as Mondo felt his head start throbbing “Can’t we like set him up so he makes himself look like a dick or like… Like…”

“Dunno man, you’re the one giving off some way bad juju right now” Yasuhiro mumbled.

“Err Hiro? You’re meant to be on our side?!” Leon barked back. Fuck, couldn’t he be quieter?

“Hagakure is a mole!” Hifumi bellowed. God his voice was grating too.

“Is he really that bad of a guy? It’s not like he’s done anything wrong!” Now Makoto was shoutin’?

“Of course he is?! You’re saying you’d be happy with him cuddling up to Kyoko? He’s probably got all four of them chicks doing whatever he wants!” Leon screeched.

“Do you not trust the girls at all Leon?!” Makoto yelled.

“ALRIGHT ALREADY!” Mondo commanded with a roar. He needed a god damn paracetamol. Fuckin’ loud dickheads.

Silence settled in the room. When Mondo decided to raise his head and look around he saw Leon had awkwardly sat back down, Hifumi looked like he wanted to jump out the window, Makoto was glaring at the floor, and Hiro… Well Hiro was watching TV. Mondo respected that.

“Y’all too fuckin’ loud” He muttered before standing up and walking to the kitchen. 

He walked to the cupboard he knew had all the medical supplies, Makoto was pretty handy sometimes, and pulled out some tablets. He threw them down his throat, grabbed a glass of water and downed it before returning to the living room.

“I’m gonna go ‘round and sort ‘im out”

“Yes!” Leon cheered. Fine.

“Didn’t Hina say you were banned?” Makoto pointed out.

“Yeah but… I won’t bring Leon with me, I’ll go alone” Mondo shrugged “Compromise, right?”

“Not sure if that’s-“

“WHAT?! I CAN’T COME?” Leon started, interrupting Makoto.

“Not if ya wanna keep dating Sayaka” That’ll shut him up “Plus it won’t take long, I’ve got an idea”

The red head grumbled before accepting Mondo’s words. ‘Bout time’ The biker thought. 

“W-what will you do to him!?” Oh look, Hifumi stopped shittin’ bricks.

“An endurance challenge” Lavender eyes glistened with smug pleasure “I’ll just show him who the men are around here and why he needs to watch who he’s talkin’ to!” 

Mondo grabbed his jacket and slipped on his shoes. He would teach that guy a lesson about how things are run here, and that he can’t just turn up out the blue, start workin’ on the women and callin’ him a delinquent. No, Mondo would show him he’s the real man here and that Ishimaru shouldn’t be runnin’ his mouth on things he didn’t know.

“This sounds like a bad idea…” Makoto muttered.

“Fine, you can come with, we’ll need a witness anyway!” Fuckin’ hell, what's with this kid?

“What?!” Makoto and Leon shouted in unison.

“What’s hard to understand? You’re out” He pointed at Leon “And you’re in” He said as he dragged Makoto with him.

“Dick!” Leon bitched.

Flipping off Leon as he started to leave Mondo knew he was making the right decision. By the end of today this whole thing would be over with.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kiyotaka thought his first week had gone well! He’d picked up some further reading he could do from the lecturers who had been available, reinitiated his gym membership and had an unorthodox meeting with the other house comprising of Miss Fuijisaki, Miss Ludenberg, Miss Oogami and… The other two… He’d ticked off boxes in education, health and socialising; successful indeed!  


Now he was helping Hina with the washing up after seeing the other women off. He was quickly growing fond of the swimmer, she was very helpful in social interactions and had been more than accommodating as a hostess. Perhaps he should tell her this.

**-Bang bang bang-**

“Hmm?” The former prefect turned at the noise, had someone forgotten something?

“Oh boy…” The swimmer deflated next to him. This might be one of those situations he found hard to read… Why was she frowning?

**-Bang bang bang-**

“I’ll get it!” A perky Sayaka called hopping down the stairs.

Going back to what he was doing, he washed a plate and put it in the drying rack when he heard the door click open and Sayaka gasp.

“You’re meant to be banned for a week! Or until you apologise!” The singer yelled “… Oh! Hey Makoto!” She sang, she could flip that personality pretty quick…

“Can it will ya! Where’s the dork?” Him…

“I’m in here!” Though he resented being called a dork in a derogatory tone he responded in the hope that if he attracted the beast to him the ladies would be spared from it’s wrath. Maybe he should get a restraining order.

“There ya fuckin’ are”

“Language!” Taka turned to face Mondo Owada, the girls had kindly explained more about him since his last ‘visit’. 

He looked like a rebel hell bent on causing chaos and destruction. His dyed hair and fierce build no doubt incited fear or concern in many men who would challenge him however he was sadly mistaken if he thought Kiyotaka Ishimaru was a man who would bow down to evil and let it corrupt whatever it wanted. ‘Never again’ Ishimaru thought bitterly.

“And to what do we owe the pleasure Mr Owada?” He spat out. This time he was ready to fight back.

“Mr Owada? You fuckin’…” The thug started “I’m here to fuckin’ teach you a lesson!”

“Oh really? And just how are you going to do that?” Ishimaru glared back removing his marigold gloves. He thought he heard a giggle from his side as he did.

“You and me are gonna complete!” The other man announced triumphantly like he’d already won. What a fool. 

It was now that Kiyotaka noticed Makoto was stood behind Mondo looking worried and humiliated. He was conversing with Hina and Sayaka (who had came into the room when the boys had entered), it seemed like the three were having a separate silent conversation as Mr Naegi mouthed ‘I have no idea what’s going on’.

“What challenge does a coward like you have in mind?” He refocused back on his competitor.

“A stamina contest, y’know how the gym here has a sauna on the 1st floor?”

“Ah I see” He nodded “A simple challenge of who can last the longest?” So that was his plan? To humiliate him by proving he was the more formidable of the two. There was no question that the delinquent would have done this with the rest of his posse who he showed up with last week if they asserted themselves like Taka was “Fine, maybe then you will stop acting so barbaric” 

“Barbaric?!” It seemed Ishimaru had hit a nerve “I’ll show you barbaric, MAKOTO!” The biker yelled.

Makoto jumped at the sudden interjection of his name. Kiyotaka had to feel a small pang of guilt that the most reasonable person of that group was seemly brought into these situations. If he had to make a bet, he would say that Makoto would be the person who always ended up helping sort out the messes of the others or deducing the rightful culprit and making them see justice.

“Err yeah?” Makoto replied.

“You’ll be our witness” Mondo proudly commanded. So smug “You’ll help judge and announce the winner of the endurance challenge!”

“But what is the challenge exactly?” The boy timidly asked.

“We’ll duel in the sauna for who can withstand the extreme temperatures longest!” Ishimaru explained “Am I right?” 

“Exactly! We’ll sit in the sauna and see who’s the last man standing!” The delinquent beamed at his own idea and the other man had to agree this seemed like an adequate solution for dominance. 

“That’s… It?” Hina finally spoke. What was she expecting?

“No fighting?” Sayaka added. What?!

“Of course not!” Both himself and Mondo shouted.

“That wouldn’t demonstrate anything more than who was quicker and is based around environmental factors which may vary!” Kiyotaka added.

“Yeah! This has ta be purely based on our own skill and brains!” 

“How does this have anything to do with brai—” Hina began.

“As much as it pains me, I have to agree, this is the most suitable solution which will give us an appropriate outcome” He felt guilty for interrupting but had to assure the rest of the room this was the most just assessment they could conduct.

“Hell yeah and Makoto we’ll need you to officiate to make sure it’s all legit” Mondo seemed to have point there even if Kiyotaka took a mental note that the boy was Owada’s housemate.

Walking closer Kiyotaka sized up the other individual. Sure his stature was great, impressive even, but the Politics’ Major was also muscular; his kendo, regular fitness regime, and healthy diet ensured his body was in prime fitness which could undergo a multitude of hardships. Assuming the other was oblivious to this it may give him the element of surprise when he lasts longer than expected, and it might make the other’s game flatter causing him to panic and throw his own advantage. A confident smile spread across his lips.

“You’ll be done in a matter of minutes! People like you are, without exception, all talk” Kiyotaka allowed himself to gloat.

“Bring! It! On!” Owada snarled “Let’s make it interestin’, lets battle with all our clothes on!”

“That’s suicidal! Y-you’ll regret that!” Surely that’d be insane!

“Shut it! Let’s do it!” Mondo ordered. 

With that he and Mondo left with the latter dragging Makoto with him. Kiyotaka couldn’t help notice the tired expressions on the girls faces but he was doing this for them! Surely they would understand eventually. 

“You’ll be begging on your knees by the time this is over” Kiyotaka boldly asserted.

“Ha!” The brute was laughing? “More like you’ll be beggin’ me to stop by the end” 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the front door slammed shut behind the men Hina thought she had aged several years from that conversation alone.

“Do you think they heard what they just said?” Sayaka winced in what Hina assumed was embarrassment.

“No…” ‘On your knees Taka? Really’ She thought “I think they’re both as dumb as each other”

“Okay good, glad I’m not the only one” Sayaka offered a worried smile before leaving to resume whatever she had been doing before. 

Aoi had grown to have a small affection for Taka since he’d arrived, of course he was a bit peculiar but he was extremely ethically and his enthusiasm was a nice change of pace for the household. Whatever was going to happen tonight she hoped Taka would come out of it better than he went in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SAUNA SCENE! SAUNA SCENE! SAUNA SCENE!
> 
> Also thanks for the comments on the first chapter! All feedback is appreciated :)
> 
> Some info  
> Girls house:  
> Hina  
> Sayaka  
> Kyoko  
> Toko  
> Taka
> 
> Boys house:  
> Leon  
> Hiro  
> Makoto  
> Hifumi  
> Mondo
> 
> Other house:  
> Sakura  
> Celestia  
> Chihiro  
> Junko  
> Mukuro
> 
> Lives in a fancy rented apartment alone:  
> Byakuya


	3. Sauna Scene

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys head off to partake in their challenge. 
> 
> Feelings are shared, bonds are formed. 
> 
> Mondo has a moment. 
> 
> Leon is tired.
> 
> TW Mentions of bullying

This was weird. This was VERY weird, right? Surely this isn’t what normal guys did to decide who won an argument, in fact Makoto was sure of it.

“You guys okay in there?” He timidly enquired.

When Mondo dragged him to the girls house he had no idea this is where they would end up. With him stood outside the sauna on a Friday night as the other two… Duelled? Alone? In a sauna!? 

“I know you want to prove which one of you is the biggest badass but isn’t this-?” Makoto worried his lip, surely they could get really sick by staying in there too long.

“Shut up!” Both men shouted back.

‘Gah… I just can’t win’ Makoto resigned to himself. He wasn’t even needed here since he couldn’t see what was going on in there, the tiny window had steamed up as soon as both of the guys had entered. Morally, he thought he should stick around to make sure neither of them died due to their stubbornness but he doubted they would listen to him even if he was worried.

“I think it’s getting late…” He tried again to encourage them to stop.

“You win, or you lose. That’s… The only thing that matters!” He heard Kiyotaka mutter in a concerning tone.

“Listen to you… You son of a bitch” Mondo didn’t sound much better “I’ll… I’ll push you right up to the gates of hell”

‘Uh oh, that’s not a great place to push someone’ The Psychology student anxiously considered, just how far were these two planning to take this? Surely not to death or in this case hell.

“Look I think you guys should sto-“

“If you’re gonna keep bitchin’ you can fuck off back home Makoto! We’ll let you know who wins!” Didn’t they bring him here so he could officiate? Ugh, if they were going to be like this there was no helping it. Surely nothing important would happen if he left now. He would just have to trust these two would have some sense to stop before one of them got sick. That wasn’t too much to ask right?

“Okay well g’night then!” Makoto replied, he wasn’t going to stay any longer than needed in case they changed their minds and had him join them inside. ‘Good luck’.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What was with this guy? He was being so damn determined. Mondo subtly wiped the sweat off his brow, making sure to do it out of the sight of the other man in case it let on about his discomfort. Though, with his clothes on he felt he could show a little bit more irritation than Ishimaru who had stripped off after bitchin’ about it being crazy to clothed be in a sauna. Mondo was so gonna win this.

“You… You can give up whenever ya want y’know?” Mondo prodded his opponent.

“Ha! Like I would even consider that!” The smartass shot back giving him a glare with it. Dick.

They both refocused on the pit of coals in front of them, refusing to engage in any further discussion for now. Mondo thought they had been in there for roughly an hour, he could definitely last a couple more hours right? No, he definitely could. He had the fighting spirit of a Crazy Diamond; he would throw this guy up against the gates of hell just like he had said.

The sizzle of water evaporating surrounded them and Mondo shut his eyes to focus on the sound. He always found white noise like this soothing when he was overthinking or anxious. In fact he liked saunas in general, they were manly and normally a great bonding experience, he thought back to all the times he’s been out with Daiya and the gang to one. They would chat shit, talk about glory and chicks while just hanging out and relaxing. Ha! Mondo doubted Ishimaru even knew what comradery like that even felt like! 

Opening his eyes, he peeked at his competitor. Geez, he looked like one of those Greek statues contemplating the universe or something, kinda cool… NO… He looked like an old man about to kick the bucket, yeah that’s more like it. 

“Why you tryin’ so hard man?” Mondo lazily asked, looking back at the pit.

“I won’t let a bully win” Without missing a beat Ishimaru replied. Where the hell did he get this bully line from? Did this guy get off on judging people and calling them names? 

“I ain’t a bully!” He grumbled.

“You are! You… You assert your dominance over other people until they succumb to your whims” 

‘Succumb to my whims? I don’t have any ‘whims’ I want to be fulfilled by him! Was the heat already getting to this guy’ The biker thought. Unless he was basing his thoughts of Mondo’s wants on previous experiences with other ‘bullies’… That would explain why the guy was so quick to fight back with him.

“I won’t let people like you keep winning” The other mumbled. So, he had experienced stuff like this before.

“So, you been bullied huh?” Mondo asked, in what some could say was a softer tone however he would deny that of course.

“I—” Kiyotaka started.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

‘How could he tell?’ 

Nearly every day in high school had been rough for Kiyotaka. He’d been the pun in jokes, the victim in fights and the fool who kept coming back. Resilience was something he’d honed over the years and he even had some battle scars to show for it.

“I wasn’t well liked in high school” He started not really knowing why he was opening up like this “I know you think of me as a nark, dork, tight-ass… Whatever wording you prefer, I’ve heard it all before but…”

Saying this was hard, saying this meant he had to think about all the times he had been bullied and how each time he would have to piece himself back together all alone. It wasn’t that he couldn’t inform the teachers. It was more that when he had tried they would come back with ‘Why don’t you both just apologise to each other and we’ll leave it there?’ but that never stuck right with him. If he hadn’t done anything wrong, why should he apologise? That doesn’t resolve the original issue and isn’t a suitable solution. He’d figured out after a couple years that it was simply because they didn’t care. 

So he decided to in their absence.

He could go to his parents, surely that’s what TV shows and media would have any child think. That they would be protected by their guardians, but he couldn’t, not that they wouldn’t be there for him but they had bigger issues to worry about. In truth, Kiyotaka never felt it was big enough of a problem to bring up to them when they were dealing with their possessions being repossessed by officials or fretting over debts that their name inherited.

So, he disguised his issues so they wouldn’t have another worry to think about.

“We need to ensure that rules are being followed, they were set up to allow everyone to succeed. Just because some people twist them for their own selfish gain doesn’t mean we should allow everyone to break them! In fact we should also bring down the people who corrupt them” Kiyotaka stopped himself, this guy didn’t care for what he had to say. Why would he?

Rules and systems were the very thing men like Mondo despised because they think they are set up to hinder them but Ishimaru believed this wasn’t the case. They were just there to protect the public at large; he was aware many people in power didn’t do it because they wanted to dedicate themselves to the people. As much as he didn’t like it, Junko was right when she mentioned some people saw it as a ‘quick buck to do eff all’. But he wanted to dedicate his life and passion to the public which included people like Mondo even if they didn’t believe it.

“Keep talkin’…” Hmm?

Looking over to the taller man he saw that he was looking directly at the coal pit, it seemed like he was almost entranced by the steam rising from it but he did just ask for Ishimaru to continue right? So he was paying attention? 

“We can change the world, we have to…” He carried on, and returned his gaze to the floor feeling a bit of embarrassment at what he would say next “I’m envious of you, you command your housemates like a team and obviously have influence over the others so much they trust your guidance, especially that Leon, I’ve never had that”

Alone. One word which he always resonated with, he wasn’t disliked horribly, lately he had the wonderful company of Hina and his other housemates but he still worried they would grow to hate him. This was the first time he had someone to lose and then Mondo had shown up threatening to take them away based on unwarranted claims. 

A long time ago he resolved that he would devote himself to his dream even if that meant he would be alone. He still thought this was true but it was nice being a part of group.

“I’ve always been alone” Taka dejectedly muttered.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alone. One word which he never resonated with, Mondo had a lot of shit thrown at him but he always had someone at his side whether it was his brother, the gang or his housemates. It wasn’t that his life was all peachy, fuck no, it was hard and he had been beaten up more times than he could count but after what he just heard he felt grateful for what he had. Anytime he came home with cuts or bruises he’d have Daiya immediately taking care of his wounds and as much as he would fight him off because he didn’t need to be mollycoddled, at least he had that option.

“Fuck man, that’s rough” He stated more than replied, he felt conflicted on what to say next.

Thinking about what Kiyotaka said he imagined the guy as a kid being left on the floor after a fight and having no one… Would he get up and dust himself off? Did someone have to find him? Did anyone even look for him? Mondo felt something in his throat tighten, it was sad, he could admit that. He was sad for the guy. 

Trying to shift his focus off that thought he moved onto the other thing he’d said about him being a good leader. It was a bitter compliment because it’s the same thing his brother said to him but no matter what he couldn’t bring himself to really believe it.

“They don’t like me… They fear me” He said honestly, if Kiyotaka could open up to him and say what he did, Mondo could at least do this “My brother is the better leader, people love him and follow him because they believe in him… They just fear me”

He chose to look up at the ceiling now. It always bothered him that when Daiya had led the Diamonds they all smiled and cheered for him with a warmth that showed how much they trusted his leadership. He was a charismatic fucker who could charm anyone within 5 minutes of meeting him, it was why the gang had done so well, why it was as big as it was. But when it came time for him to hand the gang over, which Mondo was against…

It was shit. Mondo wasn’t Daiya. He could never be Daiya. He had to assert himself as a leader and the only thing he could think of was to fight his way to the top. To make them accept him as their leader rather than convince them like the older Owada had. They’d had so many arguments about this, and it always ended with Mondo begging his brother to take back the leadership and the other refusing telling him to figure it out. Just how many things was he meant to figure the fuck out?! 

And then there was his housemates. Leon, Makoto, Hiro and Hifumi. They all feared him too. He wasn’t surprised, he tended to shout at his problems and lash out at people who didn’t deserve it so how could they not be. The same thing happened with chicks, he ended up shouting at them because he just felt so overwhelmed with his feelings and thoughts that he sent them runnin’. He just blew up. 

How could anyone like that be a good leader…

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kiyotaka mentally kicked himself. He had misjudged this man and he only had his foolish persistence on his past to blame. Relating or connecting with people was never his strong suit, all the time alone or as an authority figure had warped his ability to form relationships with others, or maybe he never possessed that ability to begin with… 

However, he could admit when he had miscalculated something. He had miscalculated this man next to him.

“I think you’re a good leader if you recognise that and change it” He sincerely replied.

Mondo had admitted to being a leader who people feared rather than trusted, in these situations Kiyotaka normally hated those men but he could see and hear how much this man wanted to change, or maybe it was a desire not to be that way. If he truly meant it he should be encouraged not beat down further.

“Thanks” Came a reply.

They both sat there in silence digesting the new information they had both learnt about each other.

“I want to make a university society to help the other students” Eventually to help the public but Kiyotaka didn’t want to run before he could walk “I’m planning to present my proposal to the council of societies next week…”

Focusing his thoughts and steeling himself ready for rejection, he felt like this was going to be a request too far or the straw that broke the camel’s back of this newfound common ground they’d built. 

“I’ll need people to join it and committee members like a captain, vice-captain, social planner and communications officer” He continued “Will you help me lead it? Or like to join it at least!” 

As soon as the words left his lips he wanted to catch them and put them back. They had come here in the pursuit of a battle, to find out who was in the right and wrong, and now he was asking him to help him create a society. He needed to get a better grip of these social situations.

“No…”

‘Ahh… There it is’ He thought, though he couldn’t place why he felt a pang of sadness in his chest.

“I understand, we can finish this challenge in silence if you prefer?” 

“What I meant ta say was!” He saw the other man move to sit up straighter than before; he was now looking at him directly in his eyes “I don’t wanna lead it or have any hand in that, I got my own shit to deal with, but you talk the talk, I’ll join ya” 

Kiyotaka looked at him with his month slightly agape, did he say yes? Did the man in front of him, dripping with sweat and beaming a grin at him, who held him against a wall a few days ago just agree to his suggestion? Elated was the only word he could think of that would fit his feelings right now. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Watching Kiyotaka’s features light up with a passion and smile so bright it matched his eyes Mondo knew he made the right decision, hell why had he even been so riled up by this guy.

As the other man got up and started talking about all the plans he had for the new committee he was putting together the biker took a moment to reassess him. He was loud, that was still very true, but he was loud about how he wanted to make things better and hell Mondo himself wasn’t the softest-spoken fucker so screw it. Then there was how animated this guy was, he spoke with his body, even now as he yammered on about something Mondo should probably be listening to he was highlighting his words with actions.

And the dude was ripped! Mondo hadn’t stared too much until now but Kiyotaka had abs and lean muscle, no wonder he had been able to hold him back before. It looked natural on him ‘Kinda like one of those Greek statues…’ He quietly admitted to himself… Again. 

He was a smaller man but, well, most people were small to Mondo so he couldn’t knock him for that. He was a pretty good height for his body type anyway, probably around average size for a guy. 

His hair was jet black just like Daiya’s but hella short and spikey, he briefly wondered how it felt but shook the thought away, that was weird right? Maybe he’d ruffle his hair when they weren’t so sweaty… Yeah, would probably be cool for a bro to do. 

Red eyes, yeah his eyes were cool as fuck, he could stop time with those things when they look directly at you. It was pretty cool, Mondo hadn’t felt anything like that before, did his own eyes have the same affect? Probably not, they were just a soft purple colour. Oh, and those red eyes were looking at him… Shit! What was he saying? Fuck. Umm. Ah screw it! He’ll just say what he wanted to say next instead. 

Standing up he walked over to his new… Friend? And put a hand on his shoulder.

“You ‘n me? We’re brothers! Kyodais! Starting from today so anything you need I got it and you got me, right? This is a man’s promise!” 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

‘A man’s promise?’ Yes, Kiyotaka liked that.

“Aha! Yes bro! From today we will be brothers in arms, you can count on me and I can count on you!” He glowed at his new friend. Who would have guessed this outcome of their duel? Oh that… “Since we’ve arrived at this conclusion, how about we end this challenge? I think I’ve won something much greater than a sense of pride or power”

A brief flash of something Kiyotaka couldn’t put his finger on crossed the taller man’s face before he regained his wolfish grin. Phew! He thought he said something wrong.

“Bro! That was so cool right now! I got this warm feeling in my chest!” Surely that was a health concern, they really should leave. 

Giving his biggest smile back, he patted the hand still on his shoulder signalling to the other man that could let go now, though when it left he could still feel the tingling sensation there. 

“Let’s hit the showers, the best way for two men to form a special bond is by seeing each other’s bodies!” He loudly announced as he started to walk off, now that he had this man by his side he knew Mondo would be an ideal companion.

“Wait… What?!” His friend yelled. 

Holding the door open, he shivered as the cold air hit his damp skin, the worse part of a session in a sauna was the time between being in the sauna and getting to the showers. He did wish they had a form of baths here, but he would take what he could get. Looking back into the room he saw Mondo had a confused face on him, maybe he didn’t understand his suggestion fully.

“Seeing each other in our rawest form is a vulnerable moment, you’ll see my physical worth and I’ll see yours” It seemed so obvious to him but he needed to remember people couldn’t see what he thought “When we don’t hide behind our aesthetics what’s left but the realities our bodies can’t hide?” 

“Umm… Yeah, I get ya” Mondo began following him again as they walked towards the showers “Yeah that makes sense, just never did this before y’know?” 

“Hmm? I’m surprised you haven’t! If you feel uncomfortable we can always shower separately!” Kiyotaka reassured, like he said this is a vulnerable moment, if the other wasn’t ready he would never push him to be.

“Nah! I think it’s a good idea!”

Once they reached the male locker room Kiyotaka stopped to check his phone before finding a new towel to take in with him. They were the only two in here which wasn’t surprising since it was around 10pm and the gym was set to close soon, they’d better hurry. 

“I’ll meet you in there!” He called out before entering the next room to shower. He heard a mumble of confirmation as the door closed behind him. 

The shower stations where in a rectangle layout with spaces separated by dividers along the walls, there was a soap dispenser attach the right wall of each divided space and a drain in the middle of the room where the water would naturally pool. Choosing a space at the far end of the room he hung the clean towel on the hanger provided and kept the sweat soaked one on for the time being in case Mondo decided he wasn’t comfortable after all and wanted to shower separately.

Soon he heard the door opening and turned to see the taller man come in with just a towel around his waist, he looked much more fidgety and wasn’t meeting his eyes. Maybe he had been right to keep his towel on.

“Bro, are you sure you want to do this? I don’-”

“NAH!” Kiyotaka jumped a bit and the other seemed to notice “I mean! No, come on man! Let’s just do it!”

“Okay!” 

As Mondo took the stall next to him they both stood facing each other, Kiyotaka moved to discard his towel and hung it on a stall which wasn’t being used next to him. He didn’t want it to get soaked any further! His counterpart seemed to have no such worries chucking his to the floor. If Kiyotaka wasn’t trying to make the other man feel comfortable he would have reprimanded him. Later.

Returning to his original position Kiyotaka finally took in the sight of the man in front of him. Except it was for real this time, no leather coat, no tough guy airs and graces, just Mondo Owada. He was taller by a bit and his shoulders were bigger than his own, if he thought Mondo was strong before seeing his naked body a meter away was the proof of his theory. The only way he could describe the person in front of him was, a man of men. 

But right now he had the opportunity to see even further beyond that! There were smalls scars on his body with some bigger ones across his torso, not that he was surprised to find out the other had been in fights or been injured seriously enough to leave scars, but they were prominent against his tanned skin. Kiyotaka thought they were interesting and created fascinating patterns across his body. 

Looking down further he saw strong legs which were no doubt from years of training as well as carrying around the muscle of his upper half. His feet were big but matched his body proportionally. His body was perfectly balanced that way, he wondered how many miles he had walked to get him where he was today.

Something that didn’t match this strong physique was his body language. For starters he was facing the ceiling with a faint dusting of pink on his face, Kiyotaka could see the tension in his neck as he refused to look down. Then there were his arms, they looked like there were glued to his sides and his hands were balled into fists, he hoped his nails weren’t digging into his palms. The bottom half of him was surprising calm compared to the rest of his form, his legs weren’t wobbling, maybe he was focusing so much here that the rest of his body was left to fend for itself.

To summarise what he saw. Kiyotaka saw a man who had fought his whole life, earnt the temple were his soul resided but was not comfortable in it. Maybe he thought he didn’t rightfully earn it like he mentioned about his leadership. Or maybe he didn’t believe his body was the temple Kiyotaka saw?

Mondo was still was looking up at the ceiling, Taka needed to gently bring him back to reality.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay so eventually he’d have to stop looking at the ceiling, right? Had Taka noticed? Yeah probably. What type of tiles did they use for the shower ceiling anyway? Had to be something waterproof right?

“Mondo? You can look at me now” Okay he said that way too softly for Mondo not to blush, like a girl in a chick flick, Kiyotaka’s voice that is… Not his blush. Dammit!

Looking down he saw Taka in, well, a pose like he was in a video game character creator screen. It was a bit weird but now wasn’t the time for that, he needed to trust this guy was on about something when he suggested this! 

Letting his eyes fall on the others chest he could see the subtle rise and fall as he breathed. ‘He’s alive, good note, idiot’ He criticised himself. Anyway, carrying on he noticed the muscles he saw before; they were less defined than his own but still prominent, he must do a decent workout to keep them in such a condition. Hmm? There was a scar or two in the odd place, must be from the fights he got in.

“You got scars on ya?”

“Hmm? Ah yes! Some were from less favourable moments in high school! This one is from when I feel out of a tree as a kid!” 

He watched as Kiyotaka pivoted slightly to show Mondo his side where there was a small scar on his hip, with his pale skin you could barely see the scars he had especially one as old as that. Following it with his eyes he found himself looking at the other’s legs next, consciously avoiding a certain part of the body. 

They were pale too, probably saw less sun than the rest of his body, but still looked strong and his calves were big which reminded Mondo of a runner’s build. This guy most likely did the running competitions on sports days though the shape of his upper body would likely keep him from winning 1st place.

The most impressive thing about Taka was his pose (even though it was slightly weird), he looked so proud? No that wasn’t right, more like content with his body. He obviously accepted himself physically and thinking back to their conversation it sounded like the area he was most concerned about was his emotional / mental side. Hey! This naked thing did do something!

“I think I get why ya do this!” Mondo proudly proclaimed.

“Good! I hope you have a better sense of who I am! We should start showering now though as it’s getting close to closing time!”

Oh yeah! 11pm closing time. Both men walked into their stalls and hit the switch for the water to start. Mondo always hated how cold the water was to start off with, boiling hot was more his preferred heat, moving to grab some soap he pressed on the button but none came out. Fuckin’ cheap ass university. 

“Yo bro, you got soap?”

“Sure! Grab some from mine!” Kiyotaka shouted.

With that Mondo leant around the divider to get the soap, but he froze as he did.

As he looked over he saw Taka: eyes closed, lips slightly parted, head tilted back with his hands softly massaging soap into his hair. His posture was much more relaxed and made his body look really cool, the way the water fell down his chest looked cool, the way his legs held him up made his muscles fall in all the cool places. But that wasn’t even the coolest bit. When he opened his eyes leaving them half-lidded and looked at Mondo. That was so cool.

“Have I ran out too?” Taka’s voice woke him up from his daze… No! Admiration…No!

“OH!” Remembering the reason he came over in the first place he quickly hooked an arm around the wall and grabbed some soap.

What. The. Fuck.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So you’re saying you left those two idiots in there alone!?” Leon erupted. Was Makoto stupid or something?!

“They said they’d tell me who won… They’re smart enough not to die… Right?” Makoto guiltily mentioned.

“For fucks sake dude!” The redhead shouted, seriously he could not deal with this right now.

When Makoto had come back he expected Mondo’s big sweaty self to be following behind him gloating about how he beat the guy in his weird sauna challenge thing. But when the kid had rocked up alone he immediately cursed him out.

Of course, Leon’s babe Sayaka had let him know about what they had got up to at theirs.

“What part of Mondo makes you think he makes rational decisions?!” He yelled, literally what part?

“Ummm…” 

“Calm down man, I’m sure he’ll show up soon” Hiro’s relaxed voice came from the couch he was splayed over. 

Taking a deep breath in through his nose and out through his mouth he moved back to slump in his chair, that breathing thing Mondo taught him was pretty helpful to be fair. He started to relax as he looked at clock. 11pm? The gym closes now so they’d be getting kicked out anyway, not that he didn’t doubt the brute could intimidate the security guard to keep it open if he wanted. He had a gang after all. 

Honestly when Leon had arrived at this house he was worried he’d be stuck with some weirdos or jocks, so when he met these guys… Minus Hifumi… He pretty much lucked out. And the geek wasn’t that bad most of the time, kept to himself and let Leon borrow his kinky manga collection so a good dude. Hifumi was in his room right now, probably drawing another portrait of the goth chick, when was he gonna start drawing the portrait of Leon he promised anyway?

The man-couch hybrid called Hiro was rad, he pretty much just smoked weed, ate snacks and slept. No wonder the guy had to re-sit his first year twice. Though he was still clinging onto the prediction he made that he would graduate at 25, even though he was only right 30% of the time. Plus like, couldn’t he just beat that prediction or something, who knows. Not Hiro.

The boy wonder was alright too, but he was waaaaaaay too pally with Sayaka for Leon’s liking. Why did all the chicks seem to warm up to Makoto anyway? Just because he was a nice guy and did things for people without expecting things in return? What’s exciting about that? Anyway, he was a good dude when it came down to it. Annoying and always right but not a bad guy.

Mondo though, Mondo was fuckin’ awesome. When he wasn’t being a dick that is, which was around 30% of the time, huh sorta like Hiro’s clairvoyance. He had a motorcycle, a freaking MOTORCYCLE. And let Leon smoke in his room since he had the loft room and a skylight. Not to mention how rad it was to have a gang leader in his student house, who could say that besides these guys? Plus, he guessed, when it came down to it he was a fun guy to have around.

So if he was fucking dead on a sauna floor Leon would be super pissed at him.

A click broke his trail of thought which he recognised as the front door ‘Bout time’ he mentally shouted.

“What time do you call this shithead?” He called out.

He watched the hallway with intrigue, normally he’d get some sort of swear word shouted back at him or something. 

It took a bit, even Hiro looked up to watch too but eventually the guy rounded the corner. He looked like he’d been sat under a waterfall, his hair was soaking and pushed back, his shirt was clinging to him as well as his pants ‘of course he did it with clothes on to be extra hard’ Leon snorted at the thought. 

His face though, it was weird, he looked pissed but not at anyone in particular.

“You good bud?” Hiro asked, good that eldest should sacrifice himself for the good of the pack.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine” Mondo muttered “Just gonna get some water then go to bed, headaches back” 

As he walked to the kitchen Leon had a silent conversation with Hiro and Makoto. They’d been in this situation before where Mondo is a bomb they had to defuse before it went off. The discussion they were having was who would be the one to defuse it.

Leon pointed at Makoto, he was the one who went with him in the first place. Done. But then Makoto pointed at him? Oh what was he gonna say… Or well mime. He chose to grab his other hand in a sort of handshake? Oh he meant they were close so he should deal with him. Err the only reason they were close is because Leon normally wriggled out of these situations dumbass!

Both him and Makoto now looked too Hiro for the deciding vote. God help them all, the man was holding his hair and squeezing his eyes shut. Fuckin’ hell, he was trying to get a prediction wasn’t he? 

Hiro threw out his arm and pointed at…. Leon. Shit.

He could hear Mondo start to walk back from the kitchen and Leon silently made several deals with the devil for this to go okay while Hiro and Makoto mocked a salute. Traitors. Once the big guy got back into the room he looked at them obviously sensing the weird energy while he sipped a bottle of water.

Now or never.

“So Mon how did it go? Did you fuck that idiot up?” Leon tried.

“HE’S NOT A FUCKING IDIOT IDIOT!” Leon had chosen poorly. 

“Didn’t you--” Leon tried to start talking but winced knowing the outcome.

“Yeah I know what I fuckin’ said before! But I just sat in a hot ass room with him and the dude’s alright!” Mondo barked before looking around at them all “He’s more than alright! Kiyotaka Ishimaru is great and inspirin’!”

Inspiring?

“He got some cool ideas and wants to do the best for everyone! If that ain’t a man I don’t know what is!?” The biker shouted. And he said THEY were loud before?!

“But who won?” Makoto asked. Sweet baby Makoto, RIP.

“IT DOESN’T FUCKIN MATTER WHO WON!” Mondo roared.

The room went silent and Mondo seemed to realize the everyone was trying not to look at him. ‘Lest we wake the beast’ Leon supplied as if Hifumi was in the room. That guy was probably boarding up his door as they sat here being told off.

“Look” Mondo begin in a nicer tone, okay now they were getting somewhere “He’s making a society who’ll look after the students or somethin’, we’re all joining ‘kay?”

“What?!” Leon jumped up at that. Errrr Mondo could make him do a lot of things but doing extracurricular activities wasn’t one of them!

“What?” The biker glared back. Oh, not the time dude.

“You ain’t gonna drag me to some lame ass fuckin’ school club! He’ll make us do our course work!” Leon argued.

“No, he won’t but you should wanna do that anyway!” Since when was Mondo a good boy? “Anyway, that’s not the idea, he just wants to improve the campus for everyone or somethin’…”

“That’s twice you’ve said ‘or somethin’? You don’t even know what you agreed too!” The punk shouted back, hell no, Mondo might not read the contract before he signs it but Leon ain’t dumb, he’s not signing that paper.

“LOOK!” The bark was back “There’s this role thing, a social planner, you organise the events, he was tellin’ me about it” 

Where was he going with this?

“And?” Leon prodded.

“And dickhead! You’d be good at it, you basically just organise parties and shit and you already do that!” 

What?

“He wants me to be the party planner?”

“Well… Not you, anyone who joins would get ta run for it but I was talkin’ to him on the way back and told 'im about you guys” Mondo looked off to the side, why did he look nervous? “Anyway he said you sounded like you’d be good it” 

“That’s nice of him” 

“Shut it Makoto! I’m thinking!” Leon cut off the boy who just huffed back.

He looked at Mondo trying to see what was going on, this guy left this house before determined to rip that guy to shreds and now the same man was back here apparently FRIENDS with the dude and trying to recruit people to his cult. Well no way on earth was Leon gonna-

**-Bzzt bzzt-**

He looked at his phone. Oh Sayaka! Hell yeah.

_Babe: I heard Taka invited you to his society!_

_Babe How wonderful!_

_Babe: Right? ^_^_

_Babe: You’d be a great social planner! If you go for that role I’ll vote for you!_  
  
Well fuck.

He sighed, sat back down and laid back in the chair.

“Fine” He muttered.

“Nice, anyway I’m fuckin’ tired, so later” Mondo started to leave like nothing even happened. He gave them all a final nod before dragging himself upstairs.

What was with this Taka guy?

“Seems this Taka dude ain’t only popular with the ladies” 

“Shut it Hiro” Leon DEFINITELY could not deal with this right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When Mondo says cool he means hot, sexy, beautiful, gorgeous etc. He's just not figured that out yet. 
> 
> I got Leon in a personality quiz and I FEEL THAT.
> 
> (Also is it ishimondo week???)


	4. Commitee & Party Planning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The commitee is decided and party planning is underway for their first society party. 
> 
> Mondo and the guys get the house ready and the girls help Taka get ready!

“I didn’t even know the university was open at this ti-” Hiro yawned “-me” 

Seriously. It was 7am. He hadn’t been on campus at this time in like… Ever.

“I know man, who knew they even did breakfast here?” Leon mumbled as he swallowed another bagel.

“I mean, I think most people do…” 

“Shut up Makoto” The redhead muttered.

Yasuhiro tried his best to snuggle up against the plaster wall, he’d managed to snag the wall seat on this row of desks for this very purpose, here he had the best chances of a nap. They were in one of the lecture rooms on campus where the first session of this new society thing was taking place. On his row sat the rest of the boy’s house minus one biker who (god rest his poor soul) had decided to sit in the front row of the room and was currently face down on a desk. This Taka dude obviously meant a lot to him.

Hiro had met Taka since the bros started their brotacular adventure together. He snickered at his own creative title for this chapter of their relationship. The dude seemed nice if not a bit strange. He was loud, didn’t tend to get jokes that often, and when he did he gave out this robotic sounding laugh that was a little weird but like, didn’t they all have something odd going on? An unusual laugh was hardly the weirdest trait in their group. 

Plus, the guy was super helpful! He had already helped Hiro sort out some of the admin stuff he was meant to have done a few months back, like reactivating his university email and enlisting him for the work experience module. 

Hifumi still seemed to be on edge about the guy. He wasn’t convinced that Taka wasn’t gonna try and sneak peeks at the girls or something, it didn’t help that Junko seemed to be feeding this paranoia but that chick was bad news most of the time so Hiro thought Fumi should really learn to take what she says with a pinch of salt. 

Speaking of Enoshima, she was currently telling some of her wild tales to the other house and the girl’s house who were sitting in the row of desks behind Mondo, well bar Chi who was sat next to him. They were all chit chatting and laughing at her stories while Taka set up the podium and wrote something on the whiteboard. Oh! He was writing the titles of the roles that needed filling, the titles were:

Captain

Vice-Captain 

Social Planner

Communications Officer 

If he was remembering correctly each of the candidates for each role would make a speech on why they wanted the role and then everyone would vote for the person they thought should get the role. It was simple enough though he did appreciate that Taka seemed to be explaining the process as he handed out pens, voting slips and paper with the candidates names on.

Once he got to Hiro he went through the instructions, and Hiro just nodded before noticing something he did find a bit odd.

“You’re not going for Captain Taka?” 

“Hmm? Oh no, I don’t believe my skill set will be best suited there but don’t worry! We do have some wonderful candidates for the position!” He beamed “I think I would be best placed as the Communications Officer; I would be in charge of general communications and also enforcing that the rules are adhered to by the committee and society members!”

Well, that did make sense, Hiro shrugged before he started reading the names for each role.

Captain: Makoto Naegi, Byakuya Toga-

WHAT! Byakuya was gonna be here?! 

As if on que the man in question waltzed through the door and took a seat at the back. It wasn’t a surprise Toko immediately took the seat next to him which made the dude frown, ‘that’s not very nice’ Hiro thought. How did Taka even know or get Togami to join his society? 

Ugh well he knew who he DIDN’T want to be captain. Anyway, where was he?

Captain: Makoto Naegi, Byakuya Togami, Celestia Ludenberg, Leon Kuwata 

Vice-Captain: Aoi Asahina, Kyoko Kirigiri, Leon Kuwata 

Social Planner: Leon Kuwata, Junko Enoshima

Communications Officer: Kiyotaka Ishimaru, Chihiro Fujisaki, Leon Kuwata 

Oh the temptation to vote for Leon for all the roles was strong, he remembered the punk raving about how if he was gonna run for one position he might as well run for them all. It would be really funny for him to win all the positions and then have a crap tone of work to do but no, this was a great opportunity for him to practice his fortune telling and have a nap while he waited for the results. 

Captain: **Makoto Naegi** , Byakuya Togami, Celestia Ludenberg, Leon Kuwata 

Vice-Captain: Aoi Asahina, **Kyoko Kirigiri** , Leon Kuwata 

Social Planner: **Leon Kuwata** , Junko Enoshima

Communications Officer: **Kiyotaka Ishimaru** , Chihiro Fujisaki, Leon Kuwata 

Done. He folded the slip of paper up happy with his predictions as the Captain candidates were making their way to the podium. ‘Good luck ladies and gentle folk’ he mentally saluted before zonking out. 7am was way too early. Naegi would fix that right?

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This morning had been a LOT. He was glad that they had all managed to home in one piece after the early ass wake up and then a day of lectures as well. Thank fuck it was Friday. One person whose energy never seemed to run low though…

“I am so PSYCHED for this party man! You have no idea!” 

Mondo had a pretty good idea of how ‘psyched’ the redhead was but he would let Leon tell him another, hmm, two more times before he banned him from the living room. Five was the maximum amount of times he could hear the same piece of information before losing it.

“Like I knew I would win the social planner thing, no question about it, but it does make this Halloween party even sweeter” Leon raved.

After all the speeches and the votes were tallied the ending results were the following: wonder boy Makoto would be the captain, his partner in crime Kyoko would be the vice, Leon had obviously got the party planner role and Taka had grabbed his communication thingy. Overall Mondo was pretty cool with that line up but it did mean Leon would now be going on about it every day for around a month. Maybe he could ask to stay at Taka’s until that was over…

At the moment they were in the living room where Mondo was currently clearing the floor before he started cleaning, they’d broken out into teams in order to set up their house for pre-drinks tonight. Mondo was the cleaner because he was the most skilled in that area, at first it shocked his housemates to find this out but after he had told them how he’d looked after his previous house for months when his brother got into a biking accident, therefore becoming quite competent at looking after a home and cooking, it all made sense. Leon had made some shitty comments about him being the perfect housewife which he quickly shutdown because fuck that. 

The dick in question had the task of organising the night because it was apparently his ‘crowning ceremony’ for the Social Planner role and a chance to prove to the society that they had made the right decision by assigning him this role. Leon would also be buying the booze for their house, plus a little more in case they ran empty. It’s not like it would go to waste anyway. Mondo had to admit Leon had actually done a decent job of organising everything, he set up an event on social media, put together a playlist and was currently planning some games they could play. It was ALMOST as if he liked being a Social Planner, who would have guessed, huh? 

Food was left to Hiro, with the amount of snacks he consumed during his time at this university he’d already tried most of the fast food places in the city. And after consulting the sky and one long phone call they apparently had 10 pizzas and a tone of snacks coming just before everyone was meant to get here. 

The newly appointed captain had teamed up with the geek to put together some decorations and get the costumes ready for their housemates. Hifumi would be Frankenstein, Makoto would be a mummy, Leon would be clown ‘which is a bit fuckin’ weird’ Mondo thought, Hiro would be a robot which also made no sense, and apparently he was going to be a werewolf. Which to be fair he was pretty happy about.

Currently the plan was Mondo would clean this shit tip up, then Hifumi and Makoto would make it look as spooky as they could with a minimum budget and the nerd’s art and craft supplies. Leon would then set up whatever he needed to for his games, and Hiro would get the plates and crap out. Sorted.

“You got the drinks then?” Hiro asked from his usual position on the couch.

“Oh hell yeah man! I have us stocked up for beer and told the others to bring their own if they wanted anything fancy” Leon bragged. Oh really?

“Is that why there’s two bottles of white wine in the fridge?” Mondo pointed out with a smirk as he set the vacuum up “That’s Sayaka’s favourite right?” 

“SO WHAT OF IT!?” The punk shot back earning a snort from Mondo and Hiro “I’m not gonna let my babe buy her own fucking drinks” 

“Seems Mr Kuwata is thoroughly w-whipped!” Oh heck yeah Hifumi! Get in on this! 

“Yes Fumi!” Hiro hooted.

“Fuck him up!” Mondo cheered.

“Oh fuck OFF! You’ll have that goth chick stocked up all night! Don’t play that your any better off!” Leon was now pointing accusingly at the geek. 

“Well I-… I might have procured some red wine f-for Miss Ludenberg!” 

“Don’t worry Hifumi! I got Kyoko some stuff too” Makoto reassured the guy. Always the hero aye?

“Aww only Kyoko? Byakuya will be heartbroken” The biker teased as he put the plug in the socket but not turning it on just yet as he was enjoying this conversation a bit too much. 

“W-what does that mean?” The innocent act won’t work here kid.

“Just that the prick wouldn’t be coming unless you were here” Leon supplied. 

“That’s… That’s not true”

As they all deadpanned at him the boy deflated in acceptance.

“What about you two then?” Makoto motioned towards him and Hiro. 

“Me? Well me and Mary are gonna get pretty well connected so I’ll leave the drinking to you fine men and women” Hiro announced while puffing an imaginary pipe. Focus then switched to him.

“Ha! I ain’t brought anythin’ for anyone but me” Mondo lied, he had brought a bottle of vodka which was in his room for him and Kiyotaka to have later in the night but he wasn’t about to mention that when they were all on about their partners. The last thing he wanted to do was to insinuate that he was bangin’ his best friend. 

As interested dropped they all started to get on with what they needed to do. Makoto and Hifumi went off to one of their rooms, Hiro looked like he was about to have another nap on the couch, Leon was flipping through something on his phone and the gang leader took the opportunity to start off the vacuum and began his objective.

His mind wondered as he moved around the living room, what was Kiyotaka getting up to? Probably something much cooler than this right?

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So just another 5 minutes and then you can wash it off! Your skin will look perfect!”

“Wonderful! What is this again?” Kiyotaka enquired.

“A charcoal face mask silly!” Sayaka sang back putting the small container of ‘face mask’ and applicator away. 

He was very thankful the women were helping him get ready, he hadn’t been to a party in a while and wasn’t sure what to expect. In fact, the ones he was invited to in the past were more about inviting him to be a source of entertainment rather than as an actual attendee. But he wasn’t going to think about that right now! Because right now he had four wonderful people taking time out of their preparation schedules in order to make sure he was ready. 

First up was Sayaka! She had excitedly shuffled him into her room so she could give him a ‘pamper’ session as she called it. According to her after this his skin would look delightfully radiant and he would be ready to move over to Hina’s room where she could put some make up on him. 

He was going to be a vampire so Hina had prepared some fake blood and fangs. She mentioned how she had excess materials from when she went as a cat the year prior, this year she would be a swimmer who had been eaten by a shark so she didn’t need the teeth and would be making plenty of blood anyway. 

Once done with Hina, he would then make his way to Kyoko who had a cape and other embellishments he could use to make his portrayal more authentic. He wondered where these items came from, but it seemed she was close with Miss Ludenberg so had amassed some historical looking accessories from her. ‘Very generous!’ he thought.

And finally, Miss Fukawa had agreed to help him get his characterisation correct since she had the best literary knowledge of how vampires were depicted in books, however he wasn’t sure if she wanted to do this or felt obliged to. 

“I’m so excited! This will be so much fun Taka!” The singer hopped from one foot to the other as she got her own costume out. She was going to be a witch however from her costume it looked to Ishimaru that she would be princess. Oh but there was a hat and broom! That would complete the picture, she would look charming! 

“I’m rather excited too! This will be my first party in a long time!” He replied truthfully.

“I’m sure you’ll have the best time!” She gave him a reassuring smile as she found the boots she would wear with her outfit. They had a high heel and looked like they would cut off at the ankle, very trendy! 

Giving his own smile back he felt his face putting up some resistance and curiously poked his cheeks. 

“Ah! I believe the mask has hardened!” He exclaimed in wonderment.

“Oh! Then you can go wash it off and Hina will take over!” 

“Very well! Thank you!”

Getting up off the bed he was sat on he gave her a small bow which he heard her chuckle at before returning to sort out her own outfit. 

Following his orders, he went straight to the bathroom and jumped at the sight of himself in the mirror, he looked like he had a mask on! Oh! Well, it was called a face mask wasn’t it? He tried to laugh at his slow thought process but the mask kept his features where they were which made him frown… Or he would of but he couldn’t do that either. This was rather strange! 

To commemorate this ‘first’ he took out his phone and tried to get a ‘selfie’ as Hina had called it, she had previously asked him to feature in the back of one her self-portrait photos and taught him the slang for this type of photography. Once he snapped the photo he looked at it with amusement, maybe his friend would also get a laugh out of this? Scrolling for the right contact which didn’t take too long due to his limited circle of friends he typed out a short message and sent the photo off to it’s recipient before getting to the task of washing off his ‘face mask’.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**-Bzzt bzzt-**

“Huh?” 

Mondo heard his phone vibrate from the bedside table it rested on. After finishing vacuuming he had gone for a quick shower and was now currently in his room over by the mirror working on restoring his signature pomp. Finishing by tucking a few loose strands away he threw his comb where it usually lived and made his way over to grab his device. 

He swiped the lock screen open.

_Ishi sent a picture._

_Ishi: Currently in coal! After this I will be a diamond!_

“What the fuck!?” He choked out amongst a laugh.

Fuck if this is what livin’ with the girls meant maybe Taka was the one they should have been worrying ’bout! 

He looked at the photo for a bit longer, the mask made Kiyotaka’s pale skin look even brighter (the parts he could see anyway), he looked like he was trying to smile but the facial was obviously putting up a fair fight holding his lips in their neutral position. Like most situations though he could still see the real emotion in those red eyes, a gleam of amusement was making them twinkle, Mondo couldn’t help but smile seeing it.

_Mon: hahaha_

_Mon: Is that your costume or what?_

Throwing the device on his bed he snickered to himself as he walked back over to the mirror. Now how was he supposed to put these ears on?

The guys had already made their rounds with the respective costumes, Hifumi was worryingly fast at doing this sort of thing. They’d given him a set of wolf ears which could be clipped onto his hair, a pair furry arm warmers, and a tail, they’d done a decent job with the limited supplies they had. With these accessories Mondo would wear a white tank top that he’d ripped some holes in (they were dead cheap anyway), a pair of black jeans which had tears in them, a leather jacket and leather boots. Pretty cool right? 

He managed to clip the ears on in a fair estimation of where he thought they should go and then went to grab his eyeliner, he’d do his usual badass look but add a few more bits. He kinda wanted to do whiskers but he was getting in his head about whether they’d look alright on him, ah fuck it. Owada’s didn’t do anything half-arsed.

Once he was all dressed up he looked in the full body mirror one last time. He fucking smashed it, it was rock meets beast, whiskers ‘n all!

Picking up his phone he took a selfie and sent it back to his friend with a small caption.

_Mon sent a picture._

_Mon: Full moon out tonight, better watch yerself_

He smirked, he was quite proud of himself.

**-Bzzt bzzt-**

_Ishi: *yourself_

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time seemed to be flying by today! Kiyotaka was struggling to process what had happened in the last few hours, it seemed the preparation time for a night out was more of a frantic obstacle course with timed tasks than the organized schedule he had assumed. However, they had all made it to the destination in one piece with their costumes intact. 

“Have you got everything?” Taka cautiously asked as he helped Hina out of the taxi. He was so happy he’d managed to convince her to wear long towel as a type of skirt to go with her costume, it was much too cold for her to wear only a swimsuit! Even if it was a more modest fit! Yet this did not resolve the issue of where she could put her phone, purse and keys… 

Once they were safety out of the vehicle with the others he was relieved to see Miss Maizono was offering her black cat bag as a storage solution. Feeling a little bit more relaxed he now looked over the group to make sure everyone from their house was out of the car successfully. Obviously Hina and Sayaka, the dead swimmer and the witch were good to go. Looking to his left he could see Kyoko in her chosen disguise of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes complete with hat and next to her was Miss Fukawa who had come as a homage to Dr Jekyll and Mister Hyde with her aesthetic splitting her in two sides. A more refined side and an… Unhinged side. It worried him how much more comfortable she appeared when playing the unhinged side.

“Come on guys!” Hina chimed.

Satisfied with his checks, he turned back to where Hina had just been to find she had already wondered off to the front door of the boy’s house. Coming up to her side he watched as she gleefully started knocking on the door. 

It didn’t take long for the door to reveal Makoto, at least from the height and hair he thought it was Makoto under all that tissue paper.

“Hey guys! Come in!” A friendly voice welcomed.

Letting the girls in first the ‘mummy’ gave them all a compliment for their efforts while taking their coats before moving to Ishimaru.

“Makoto! You look marvellous! Very spooky!” He clapped the boy on the shoulder earning him a small chuckle.

“Thanks Taka! You look cool too! I like the cape” His friend reciprocated “Come through, everyone else is already here”

As he made his way into the home he noted the small paper decorations in the shape of bats, some freshly carved pumpkins and cotton spider webs which seemed to inhabit the hallway and random surfaces. For a hastily planned party they had done a good job of getting the house to a spectacular finish, the cleanliness was most suitable for guests!

In the living room he was greeted by familiar faces, it did seem their house was last to arrive, he must remember to encourage Sayaka and Hina to avoid dilly dallying and singing during their getting ready time in future if it was going to make them tardy. 

Examining the other party guests he took notice of their costumes. First he saw Celestia and Hifumi, she was currently watching him as he poured her a glass of red wine, though a more accurate way of putting it was she was assessing his method. Her costume only made sense when Hifumi was with her since he seemed to be Frankenstein and she was no doubtedly Dr Frankenstein, Taka chose not to read any further into that situation…

Next he saw Leon, he looked like a nightmare. Kiyotaka wasn’t a fan of clowns or the circus in general, it all seemed very chaotic and overwhelming at the best of times and seeing the young man dressed up as some sort of demented clown costume was a very similar experience. With him was Mr Hagakure who was in part of a robot costume? It seemed like he might have shed some of the pieces of the costume only leaving on the shoes and arms while leaning on the helmet. They seemed to chatting about something and welcomed Sayaka as she joined them while twirling in her outfit. Ha! It was nice to see the normally boisterous boy fluster even if he was dressed in that horrendous clown suit.

Looking towards the kitchen he spotted Hina excitedly taking photos with Sakura, the sports student seemed to have come as a skeleton. She looked rather mystical, though he thought Miss Oogami did tend to give off a wise and mysterious atmosphere. She would make an excellent grim reaper ferrying souls to their eternal slumber, is this a compliment he should tell her? Perhaps not. 

Also in the kitchen was Byakuya who seemed to want to be anywhere else, but that was his usual aura wasn’t it? He was dressed as… Byakuya. That isn’t in the spirit! He really should have made an effort even if it was short notice, everyone else had. Taka was considering saying something until he saw Makoto and Kyoko join the man and the former grabbed a crown from the counter. As he watched the mummy try to ‘crown’ the affluent student he realised, this was his ‘costume’. Byakuya with a crown. It was better than nothing he guessed.

A loud noise that sounded like a glass smashing caught his attention and he looked over to see Junko, who was dressed as devil, Mukuro, who was dressed as soldier, and Toko surrounding a broken glass. Junko was laughing as Toko all but panicked, if he had to take a guess he would assume Miss Fukawa might have knocked the glass off the window sill it had been resting on. He would of made his way over to check everyone was alright and help clean up but it seemed Mukuro had the situation under control. He had grown to have a small appreciation for the quiet woman, she was quite controlled and worked well supporting her sister in bringing order her chaos. Whether that was good thing seemed to be decided.

“Well! Would ya look what we have ‘ere” 

Feeling a strong hand grab his shoulder Taka whipped around to see a familiar looking wolf grinning down at him. A wide smile appeared on his own face in response. 

“Owada! I will assure you I have no silver on me, do you promise you have no crucifixes?” 

Mondo laughed at his response, watching the other man laugh was quickly becoming one of Kiyotaka’s favourite past times. His friend looked incredible in his costume, the tears in his shirt and cloths perfectly matched the story behind his look of a man becoming a beast. The shorter leather jacket suited him too though that was a given when considering his usual attire, the ears and tail, they where rather cute which Taka chose not to voice out loud… Yet. And the whiskers, they were a fun addition to his usual make up. Kiyotaka hadn’t seen many men wear make up but he had to admit Mondo always wore it strikingly, even these fun new additions. 

“Depends Ishimaru, you gonna behave in my household?” Mondo played along while raising his eyebrow “if not ‘m sure I can put one together”

“Umm” A small voice broke their jousting.

Taka looked to where it came from and noticed Chihiro! How rude of him! He had been so absorbed in Mondo he hadn’t noticed the pint-sized programmer or their costume. Though. He couldn’t tell what they were dressed as. She seemed to have on a black dress, black tights and black shoes with a bright blue belt. It was an unusual outfit which is how he caught on it must be a costume rather than her forgoing the dress code like he had assumed with Byakuya.

“Chihiro! It’s great to see you however I must apologise, I don’t understand your costume” He admitted.

“Oh! Sorry! I’m Alexa!” She smiled “y’know the AI device some people have in their homes? There was also that meme too”

It took a moment for him to figure out the words she had said, he wasn’t familiar with pop culture or technology but he had seen adverts for those Artificial Intelligence devices on TV so had a vague idea of the concept. 

“Let me show you bro” Mondo stepped in getting his phone out and brought up some images and videos. How kind! 

As the three of them discussed the world of modern technology, well, as himself and Mondo listened to Chihiro tell them about the world of modern technology the biker moved to grab and pass him a beer which he appreciated and accepted with a small smile. He found during this conversation when the small woman would get especially excitable Mondo would send him silent looks either trying to confirm if he understood what was being said or showing him that he was just as lost as he was listening to their friend get so deep on the topic. A warm feeling spread in his chest at the intimacy of having a second silent conversation between only them while their other friend talked. How rude of them… Though he would let it slide this once…

“Alright kids! Now that everyone’s here it’s time for the fun to begin!” Leon’s voice broke all the conversations in the room. Maybe he was right to not like clowns…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really struggled with this chapter - Work and writing block but without being too sappy I appreciate the comments :) Thank you.
> 
> Next chapter will be as dysfunctional as you think it would be...
> 
> Also I really like writing friendship bonding moments between the characters <3


	5. Halloween Night Pt1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The party ensues and drinking games are played. 
> 
> Let Taka be a sassy drinker 2k21!
> 
> TW Drinking mentioned  
> TW Sexual activities mentioned - No smut just referencing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is supes long... And this is just part 1 opps...
> 
> I also made a playlist with the songs I listen to as I write:  
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1TjTu1dRqFt5Q1vmQ9hXPe?si=krcL_uCQRWafvx_nroHEvA  
> Feel free to listen along~!

Uh oh. It was that time of the party. The part which Chihiro liked call ‘Everyone else is much drunker than me and one shot away from chaos’. Fiddling with the can in their hands they quietly nursed their fruity cider while they watched Leon set up shot glasses in front of everyone. Or well, as best he could on the rectangular table when everyone was sat in a circle. 

“This will end badly” Makoko said, wincing when the redhead would get too close to knocking over the drinks he’d just positioned. Chihiro liked Makoto, they seemed to think similarly most of the time.

“Oh chill out Makoto” Leon laughed as he went back to his chair “It’s just our regular game of ‘Never have I ever’” 

“Hmmm” The boy didn’t look convinced and stared worryingly at the shots. 

“Alright! Everyone remember the rules?” 

A hand shot up from the couch. Chihiro gave a small sympathetic smile to its owner. Of course Taka hadn’t known the rules, he spent a fair amount of time talking to them about how this would be the first party he’d been invited to with drinking games and other people his age. Reaching into their bag, they picked up their phone and began texting. 

_Chi: Protect him._

Looking back up they saw Mondo reach into his pocket and pulling out his phone. It took a brief moment before he shot them a curt nod before typing something back and putting the phone away again.

_Mon-Mon: On it_

That reassured them. They knew first-hand that the biker was a man of his word and would do his best, it was a good thing both of the boys were sat next to each other on the couch so they could keep an eye on both of them. In fact, Taka was in quite a good position, between Mondo and Hiro was one of the safest places in the drinking circle, one would be keeping an eye out for him and the other was more focused on the pizza than anything else.

Chihiro wished they were closer to them so they could also keep an eye out for anyone looking to take advantage of the ‘new guy’ but they had positioned themself on the foot stool nearest the door ‘In case a quick and subtle escape was needed’ they had thought.

“Oh yeah! You’ve never been to pre-drinks right?” Leon announced as he stood up. Oh god, not again. “Allow me to explain…” 

A groan sounded off around the room as Leon began his usual act, to be fair to him it was entertaining but since he milked it so often it had become a joke amongst the group that he would undoubtedly use any excuse for such a performance.

“Ladies and douches, this little activity is called ‘Never have I ever’. We’ll go around the circle and each person will say a statement starting with the line ‘Never have I ever’, if anyone has done what’s being said they have to take a drink! Simple right?”

“Then what are shot glasses for?” Taka curiously asked.

“Oh you’re a quick one ain’t ya? That’s for the second part of the game” A mischievous gleam twinkled in the musician’s eyes “If someone drinks to a statement and you’re wonderin’ ‘Hey! I wanna more’ all you gotta do is down your shot and then you get to ask a question”

This was the small print of the game. Having been invited to these parties before Chihiro recognised that all of Leon’s games had some sort of catch, he was cheeky like that. However. There was always a get out clause in case the punk got wrapped up by his own rules… Not that it was much better.

“Though, if you don’t want to answer the question you can drink your shot too and then you don’t have to answer” Chihiro squeaked out with a smile.

“Oh I see!” Taka loudly announced “Okay! Let us play the game!” 

Somehow Chihiro wasn’t as confident as the vampire seemed to be. But after a couple loops of the circle it did seem that Ishimaru had picked up the concept only needing to consult Mondo when slang was being used in a statement. Apparently stuff like ‘chundering’ hadn’t made it into his vocabulary and, in fairness, he could have gone on without knowing. 

Another odd thing was no one had made it sexual yet-

“Never have I ever done anal!” Thanks Junko.

Sighing, Chihiro watched as around room nervous hands reached for their glasses, Sayaka seemed to be glaring at Leon’s hand as if daring it to move. Though despite the general consensus of unease, one hand confidently took their drink and tipped it back against their lips. A little gasp left Chihiro’s mouth as they watched Kiyotaka wipe any leftovers away while putting the glass back down without any fear. As others noticed this too, a few people took this distraction as chance to sneakily have their drink.

Though attention quickly came back to the other side of the table when a shot glass was slammed down on it.

Junko grinned feverously at the man, she looked delighted at this silent confession. Worried, Chihiro glanced back at Mondo hoping he would do something, but it looked like Mondo.exe had stopped working, instead he was just looking at his new friend with his jaw hanging. ‘Great help Mon’ The computer science student thought.

“Ishi Ishi Ishi!” Junko started which seemed to get Taka’s attention “I have a question, you a giving guy or do you prefer receiving?” 

“Both! But I suppose I prefer receiving!” The guy just shouted back. Like it was nothing… It was nothing right? Why should they be so hung up on this?

Chihiro chewed their cheek thoughtfully when they heard another shot glass hit the table. This time from Leon. What the heck?

“I have a question too!” The punks face was a little flushed, from booze or embarrassment Chihiro couldn’t tell “With a chick or?”

“With a man. I’m gay” Another matter-of-fact answer came. 

And then another shot glass hit the table… Was this guy going to get this whole group drunk because they were too nosey? Actually… That wasn’t too farfetched of a possibility.

“W-what position d-do you like?” A very flushed Toko said. Her grin was disturbingly wide as she swayed. Byakuya made a grimace, but then again, he had been grimacing since he got here.

“I suppose it’s commonly referred to as Cowgirl but in my case, Cowboy might be more appropriate” Kiyotaka said putting a finger to his chin as he considered the wording “I think it’s also called riding”

As another shot glass was lifted Mondo seemed to come back online just in time… If not a little late. 

“NO! No more questions, three’s enough” Mondo said as he held an arm out in front of the smaller man as if to protect him, and also startled Hiro “Yer all way too interested in this” 

“What! And you’re not!” Leon made a face of confusion.

“Kinky! I like it!” Junko mewled.

“S-So perverse Mr Ishimaru!” Hifumi now joined the fray.

“It’s not really…” Makoto tried to mediate.

“Riding-g~! I can imagine it now” Toko (or Mr Hyde?) sighed.

As the room continued to discuss the matter the man in question was starting to show some discomfort not being able to contribute on the topic of himself. Chihiro felt bad, everyone was talking about him as if he wasn’t there. Just because they all had opinions they wanted to voice they all felt they had the most valuable thing to say but surely the only truly important voice should come from the man it involved. Would they act this way if they were to mention their secret?

They couldn’t think about that right now! They needed to be brave. 

“Um! I’m sorry! But I want to hear what Taka has to say!” Chihiro stood up from the footrest they were sat on. Silence fell as they earnt looks from the rest of the room. It was very uncomfortable but the small appreciative nod from Taka and proud smile from Mondo told them they had done the right thing “Please go ahead” 

Sitting back down they let out a breath as the attention went back to Ishimaru who moved more towards the centre perching on the edge of his seat. 

“I am gay. I am not ashamed of this, maybe once upon a time but not now” A calm voice came out but it wavered slightly when mentioning the past “I have had sex, with a man, if that makes anyone here uncomfortable I’ll politely leave but this is the 21st century and I believe everyone has the right to love who they want to! I will not allow abuse or violence to be carried out due to an outdated view of what sexualities are acceptable!”

Red eyes looked around the room ensuring to make contact with each person, they were filled with adrenaline and caution, like they were preparing for a fight. 

“Look man! No one’s homophobic here” Leon nervously laughed off “It’s just, you’re so honest about it!”

“Why wouldn’t I be honest about it?” The question was genuine, Kiyotaka’s fighting atmosphere had changed to one of genuine confusion but the question seemed to hit each of the other students on different levels. Some undoubtedly asking themselves why this shocked them more than seeing Hifumi’s adult manga collection casually on the bookshelf or hearing Leon’s x-rated jokes he’d found online. 

Chihiro might look odd but they smiled at Taka. This guy had no idea how much of thought provoking affect he’d just had on the group. 

As the room settled, the game started up again and the mood switched back to a party vibe. They considered taking Hiro’s place on the couch next to Taka and Mondo while the older boy went to get more pizza but just as they looked over they saw Mondo whisper something to Taka before they both silently stood as the group were distracted with some other story and started to go upstairs.  


‘Hmmm?’ They silently pondered not wanting to rat them out, they’d just message their friend later to find out what’s up. For now they turned back and spotted the seat next to Makoto and Celestia was free, they’d be good company.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He grabbed a six pack of beer from the side table as they went up to his bedroom. Mondo was glad to get out of the cramped living room, 16 people and limited space was not a good combo, especially for a big guy like himself. He felt incredibly warm since around halfway through the drinking game so he was glad his bro had the same thought about going somewhere quieter. And cooler.

As they reached his room, he unlocked the door and ushered Taka in who gave a small bow and thanks as he entered, what a dork.

“Sit wherever ya want” He said as he closed the door and shrugged off his leather jacket. He moved to put the drinks down and took two cans out giving one to his partner “You alright?” He asked with a frown. Why the fuck were they all so obsessed with finding out what this guy did in the bedroom? 

“Hmm, of course!” Taka confirmed as he took the beer with another gesture of thanks before moving over to his bed “May I sit here?”

“Yeah man! ‘Course you can!” He said while moving to open the blinds of his skylight. It was nice to watch the stars and just chill with a bro. 

Looking back at his bed, he saw Kiyotaka has positioned himself on the left side in a frankly, very stiff posture. He had his back against the head rest, back rigid, legs locked straight and hands giving the beer a death grip. Mondo would fix that.

He put his own beer on the small bedside table on the right side of his bed before dropping himself ungracefully next to his friend making the bed bounce enough to throw off the other’s pose. A disgruntled gasp was his reward and he relished in it before moving to mirror the other’s position now that it was more laidback. They had both their backs up against the headrest and he hooked an arm around his friend as he had done countless times since their challenge. He noticed the stiffness in his friend’s body language started to loosen up. That’s more like it.

“Thank you Mondo” Taka was looking up through the skylight “You seem to know what I need before myself!”

“s’nothing” He bashfully replied, the wording was a bit too sweet “I was too warm down there anyway” 

A smile made it’s way onto Kiyotaka’s face which settled any uneasiness in Mondo’s stomach. Picking up his beer again he tapped it on his friends before taking another swig, he then put it back on the side and swiped through his phone to find a random playlist to put on in the background, y’know to drown out the shouts from the dumbass’s downstairs.

Considering the thought he had during the drinking game, he mulled whether it was worth bringing up. A sigh fell from his lips before he bit the bullet. He didn’t get to where he was today by taking the safe route.

“So about the whole thing you said” He made a gesture with his free hand when he said ‘thing’, he didn’t know why he did... Maybe he was nervous.

“Bro” A tired and bluntly worried tone lined Taka’s voice, it was the exact opposite tone to the one he had spoken to the group with but Mondo tried not to think too deeply why this conversation with himself might be valued differently to Taka “Don’t tell me you’re going to change how you think of me?” 

“Fuck no!” He squeezed his shoulder to emphasise his answer.

Mondo didn’t give two shits that his friend was gay, hell the guy could do whatever he wanted in the bedroom and Mondo would stand by his side. Not in the same room as whatever he was doing that is… But like support him! Ugh.

“The weirdest bit was when you were going on about how you like to get it on”

“I didn’t do it out of choice! I was asked a question under the rules of the game!” Taka now turned to face him with a stern gaze. Ah, there’s the guy he first met a few weeks back.

“Yeah but you coulda drank your shot” Ha! He had the upper hand here “That was in the rules too”

“Yes! But!” 

As Taka sputtered Mondo flashed a shit-eating grin at him. He had him there.

“I wasn’t bothered about answering it!” Taka pouted while turning away and crossing his arms. 

“That’s what I’m saying” The biker chuckled, the guy was pretty cute when he was being all sulky “I wouldn’t trust ‘em with that much info on me” He bumped his shoulder into the comically grumpy guy next to him “Mine’s doggy by the way”

Taka turned his head to shot him a confused look.

“But that position is synonymous with anal” 

“Yep” Mondo winked before laughing further.

“But you didn’t drink” Taka poked him in the chest with an accusatory finger “That’s against the rules!”

“Sorry man but I never tell the truth in those things unless I know someone can call me out on it” 

Wiping a tear away from his eye that had formed from his laughter he almost started laughing again when he saw the astonished look on his friend’s face. He really did follow the rules no matter what didn’t he? 

“Well that’s very un-sportsman like” His friend muttered “I think you should have to do some sort of penalty to make up for your immoral behaviour!”

“’Immoral’s a bit harsh all I did was break a rule” Mondo raised his free hand back up in a surrender “Though I ain’t a wimp bro, name your punishment!”

As Ishimaru considered this while looking over him. It was now that Mondo took notice of the faint blush on the other man’s face, it might have been the drinking or maybe it was the topic but the light dushing of pink was prominent against his friend’s complexion. He briefly wondered if the girls had put some other makeup on his face besides the blood stains. Oh yeah! 

Giving the guy a once over now that they were alone he was pretty impressed by the outfit. He had on his usual white dress shirt and pants but now they were accompanied by a black waistcoat which had some intricate detailing on it. Very snazzy. Then there was the cape, it was a classic black but had red underlining that you could see glimpses of when he moved his arms, it wasn’t anything special but went really well with the whole vibe Taka had going on. 

Then he looked at his face again. Taka had a really nice face, that wasn’t weird to say right? Like he looked cool? His features where so intense and whatever the girls had done tonight had worked well on him. His skin looked soft, his eyes seemed a bit more wild, maybe eyeliner? And then his mouth, it was ever so slightly redder than usual… Not that he stared at his bro’s lips a lot!... Just he noticed these things… Anyway! Besides being redder than usual he also had some fake blood running down where his fangs were, it made his lips look-

“You should have a shot of some sort!” Taka exclaimed making him jump. Oh yeah they were talking.

“A shot? Like, just’a shot?” Seemed a bit easy.

“Yes! Seeing as the forfeit or qualifier for a question is a shot it seems fair to have to do a shot when breaking the rules” His bro stated “Though, to be honest, I’ve never done one so I can’t say if it’s a fair punishment”

“You’ve never done a shot!? We gotta do one then!” Mondo shot up immediately going to find the vodka he’d put away earlier.

“But I’m not the one being punished!”

“That doesn’t matter! You’re a university student at a house party” Mondo gave him a look trying to get across how obvious it was that he needed to do one.

Finding the bottle amongst his textbooks, it was the best place to hide things from the others in case they started poking around, he brought it back to the bed before sitting down again and breaking the seal of the bottle. He didn’t have shot glasses up here so swigging it would have to do. 

“I fail to see your logic bro!” Taka said.

“Well how ‘bout this, I do two swigs? One for my punishment and one to commemorate yer first shot!” He gave his most convincing smile, not a smirk but a smile, in order to try and win over his friend.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ishimaru considered this. On one hand he was curious about the experience of having pure spirits, he had only had beer or mixed drinks at ceremonies or events where they were appropriate so he had always wanted to know why groups would choose to have shots during celebrations, or as forfeits. 

In honesty it was also one of the reasons he had been more truthful earlier, he didn’t want to make a fool out of himself if he couldn’t handle the shot and had sort of embarrassing reaction with all those eyes on him. So the idea to have one with his closest friend seemed to be a more than ideal situation to try one.

“Fine”

“Hell yeah! Alright man!” Mondo’s face lit up, his grin made his whiskers curve on his cheeks “I’ll go first!”

He watched as his friend took the bottle and tipped it back against his lips, he noted that Mondo closed his eyes whilst doing it, was that to combat the taste or to look cooler? Should he also do this when drinking it? 

After a few seconds the other man stopped and looked over at him with a big grin, he virtually had no reaction! The others downstairs had made scrunched up faces when they had done theirs and yet Mondo had just done it so effortlessly. As the bottle was offered to him he took it while worrying his lip, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.

“Now, you just chuck it back and swallow immediately” The werewolf instructed “You’ll be able to taste it in yer mouth once it’s down anyway and if ya keep it in there you’ll just want to spit it out”  
“This sounds like a bad idea” He said honestly.

“Oh it’s a very bad idea, might be too much for ya” Mondo taunted.

Hmph! Locking his courageous red eyes with devilish purple ones he swung the bottle up to his lips and drank some of the contents. After a couple of second he stopped and handed the drink back. The experience was odd, at first the vodka made him grimace because it felt warm when it hit the back of his throat. He could feel it flow down his chest like a coffee which was too hot, it was peculiar but not awful. The taste wasn’t too bad in his opinion, it definitely wasn’t a sweet taste, more of a watered-down cream or malty flavour. 

He noticed the biker hadn’t stopped looking at him, it was amusing, he was probably shocked Taka managed to do his shot with only mild unease! Waving a hand in front of his face the other man snapped out of it and turned to look intensely at the bottle. A sore loser!

“Now for your punishment Owada!” He gloated. Justice for breaking the rules!

Before Ishimaru could say anything else his friend tipped the bottle back again and drank some more, quite a bit actually… Once satisfied the other man stopped and recapped the bottle, placing it on the ground by his bed. He then proceeded to shake his head and before Taka knew it an arm was slung around his neck and brought him to the other’s chest, he then felt a hand ruffle his hair.  


“You fuckin’ did it! Your first shot!” Mondo jeered as Taka managed to wriggle out of his grasp, his friend was usually very handsy.

“It’s hardly that impressive!” He replied with small smile.

“Nah man, you did it better than those guys woulda” The werewolf mentioned gesturing downstairs.

A comfortable atmosphere enveloped the room and Taka chose to look back out the sky light, it had started raining at some point, the sound of droplets hitting the glass complimented the song playing in the background. They fell into their usual back and forth conversation as the playlist made it’s way through what he assumed was Mondo’s favourite songs.

This was nice, they could do this for hours and Kiyotaka knew he would never get bored, even the dips into silence were comforting. He didn’t feel like he wasn’t doing enough or would loose any standing with Mondo by not talking. It was just warm. These moments were warm and safe.

“Thank you for being my friend Owada” He said softly after another bout of silence.

“Tsk! How many times do I have to tell ya, just call me Mondo” The other man said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“In that case, thank you for being my friend _Mondo_ ” He repeated adding emphasis on the first name.

“You dork” Mondo caught on to his teasing with a roll of his eyes.

“YO TWILIGHT BROS! YOU GUYS COMING OUT OR WHAT?!” 

They both jumped hearing the familiar sound of Leon’s shouting make it’s way up the stairs. Oh, they were only meant have pre-drinks here weren’t they? Now they would have go out… 

His disappointment or unwillingness must have shown because as he stared at Mondo’s face the other reacted for him.

“NAH! I THINK WE’LL SKIP IT” What! 

No! He was one of the committee members! He should go with his society and have fun! And wait in the rain… To get into a club… Instead of sitting in a warm house… With his best friend… Talking about unproductive things…

“I have to go Mondo” He said as he started to move but strong hands suddenly stopped him in his tracks by grabbing onto his arms.

“Look, you obviously don’t wanna go and to be honest never do I, it’s pissin’ it down outside” 

“But I’m on the committee Mondo”

“That doesn’t mean anything, if ya don’t wanna go, ya don’t have ta go” 

“I also have to look after the girls Mondo”

“They were fine before ya got here, they’ll be fine without ya” 

Those lavender eyes he looked into just a little bit too often where sparkling with a determination he hadn’t seen before. He felt his resolve wavering.

“Mondo”

“Look I said you could use my name but not like this” The other man frowned catching on to the strategy that Taka hadn’t realised he was using. 

“Fine, _Owada_ ”

“You’re sassy when you drink” Mondo smirked and loosened the grip on his arms but only slightly “TAKA’S FEELIN’ A BIT FAINT, IT’S BETTER IF WE HANG BACK” 

Shotting Mondo a look of shock and disapproval he watched as the other started to laugh. If they were going to play hooky from this night out they could at least be honest but this reckless man decided to lie on his behalf! How unbelievable! 

“Mondo!” He shouted a whisper.

“Shhh! Nothin’ wrong with a little white lie” Mondo winked in response.

“NO WORRIES DUDE! WE’LL CATCH YOU LATER! FEEL BETTER COUNT CHOCULA!” Leon shouted back up the stairs.

He was appalled that the ruse worked and that he hadn’t stopped it but he couldn’t help let out a giggle as did his partner in crime. But it didn’t last too long. 

Footsteps running up the stairs met his ears and he looked at Mondo in a panic who looked just as worried.

“Lie down and curl up a bit!”

Following the hushed order he moved to lay down with his head on the pillow and brought his knees up a tad. 

Just as he did this the door swung open and Hina appeared with the ambience of a white knight. She looked around the room before giving him a worried look and then glaring at Mondo.

“What did you do?” She said as pointed a finger at the biker’s face.

“N-Nothin’! We were just drinkin’ and then he got a bit queasy! Y’know mixing drinks and stuff” His friend supplied and nodded towards the bottle of vodka. 

“You! You let him mix his drinks!” She shouted horrified. 

If Taka didn’t currently feel like his body was weighed down by an anchor made of guilt he’s sure he would be flattered by his housemate’s passion to protect him. Hina was wonderful.

“Yer but just ta-“ Mondo was cut off by Hina leaning over him and moving to put a hand on Taka’s face. He took note of the biker’s blush as she did this and that did make him feel queasy.

“Want me to take you home Taka?” She asked, her voice laced with concern. 

Mentally he sighed. He knew what he should say, what he should say is ‘I’m so sorry Hina, we lied to you and I don’t feel unwell, I just don’t want to go out and would rather say on this bed with this man’. What he could say is ‘Yes please, I think the drinks are clouding my judgement I’ve already lied once and I’m considering lying again’. What he would say is…

“It’s okay Hina, my bro said he’s happy to look after me, in fact he was going to tell you before Leon shouted up” He lied. LIED. 

“Well, if you’re sure Taka” She still had a worried expression on her face and moved back but not before using her pointer finger and middle finger to point at her eyes and then at Mondo’s “If anything happens to him Mondo”

“Yeah! I get it! Geez!” Mondo held up his hands in mercy.

As she moved back towards the door she gave them both a little nod.

“Sayaka will probably come back with Leon tonight so you can walk back with her tomorrow Taka” She offered giving him a smile “Catch you tomorrow, ‘kay?”

Giving her a small smile and a wave back, she closed the door and he brought his hands up to his face as he heard Mondo let out a long breath. 

“I’m a corrupt and horrible person” He admitted through his fingers.

“What? No yer not” 

Feeling a hand ruffle his hair again he moved his own away from his face and looked up at Mondo. He wasn’t looking at him he was on his phone typing a message rather clumsily with just the one hand.

“What are you doing?”

“Messagin’ Chi, they don’t normally go out either”

“Hmm” He mulled over the betrayal of his housemate; he wasn’t doing the right thing was he? He was being selfish… Just like him… This was a bad path to fall down, how could he let other people down and prioritise his own desires. What a worthle-

“Don’t” 

The hand which was ruffling his hair had abruptly stopped and Mondo was looking at him with a seriousness he hadn’t seen since they first met. It was as if he was being held against the wall again but now the only touch he was being given was gentle, protective.

“Don’t what?” Taka asked.

“Spiral” The other replied before guiding him to sit up again “I’ve seen that look before” How? “On me” 

Now he was sitting facing his friend in a sort of staring competition with a rough hand that had lingered on his shoulder giving him soft touches. He decided to lose the fake competition and closed his eyes, choosing to focus on the feeling of a hand running down his arm. It was calming and made his mind settle so he wasn’t drowning in his thoughts. When he opened his eyes again he saw Mondo was still staring at him, this felt very intimate.

“Feelin’ better?”

“Yes”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just 2 bros chillin' in a bedroom, less than 1 feet apart because they're probs gay.
> 
> Part 2 will be posted tomorrow as it's meant to (I broke it up because it's already super long >.< and I'm still finishing the second half off)  
> We'll pick things up from Mondo's POV


	6. Halloween Night Pt2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuation from the Halloween night! 
> 
> TW Drinking

**-Bzzt bzzt-**

Mondo torn his eyes away from Kiyotaka’s and removed the hand that had been stroking his arm as he went to pick up his phone again.

_Chi-Chi: I’m glad he’s okay_

_Chi-Chi: But_

_Chi-Chi: The guy mentions he likes dudes and his favourite position and you take him to your room?_

_Chi-Chi: Pretty sus_

_Mon: OH fuck off_

_Mon: u know its not like tht_

_Chi-Chi: Do I???_

_Chi-Chi: DO I?_

_Mon: Yes_

_Mon: u comin up or what_

_Chi-Chi: !_

_Chi-Chi: SCANDELOUS_

_Mon: CHI_

_Chi-Chi: :)_

_Chi-Chi: On a serious note_

_Chi-Chi: I called a taxi so me, Celestia, Junko and Mukuro are going to head home_

_Mon: thats fair_

_Mon: text me when ur home safe_

_Chi-Chi: Mon_

_Chi-Chi: …_

_Mon: TEXT ME_

_Chi-Chi: FINE_

_Mon: good_

He rolled his eyes as he put his phone back on the bedside table. Honestly, the programmer could be a handful when they wanted to be, it struck a lot of people as weird that he would be so close to them but Chihiro had been nothing but a strong person from day one and Mondo appreciated that.

Turning his attention back to Taka, he was happy to see that the distraught expression which had taken over his friend’s face before had now completely dissipated. If there was one thing he wanted to teach this guy it was not to worry so much about prioritising himself.

“You blushed before” 

His train of thought was broken by the other man who was still looking at him while he drank some of his beer. Shit! Did he mean when he was checkin’ out Taka’s makeup? Or was he on about when he was watching Taka drink the vodka? Was there another time?

“When Hina was leaning over you” His friend supplied obviously sensing Mondo had no fuckin’ clue what was being referenced. 

Oh that.

“Well, y’know when you have a pretty girl over yer lap ‘n all, ya get all flustered”

“No” ‘He’s gay you idiot’ He mentally facepalmed.

“Oh yeah, you probably don’t get that do ya?” He dumbly replied. Why was he so stupid around Taka?

“I get that concept with men” Taka said taking another swig of beer and finishing it off. This guy could really polish them off!

Getting off the bed Mondo went to grab the other cans and gave one to Taka before moving the rest to sit next to the vodka for easy access. As he got back into his position he heard a little thank you directed at him which he waved off. He had a bigger bone to pick.

“Oh you do?” He started before referencing his body “Ya didn’t act that way when you first saw me” He goaded.

“Well you were too busy holding me against a wall” Taka smirked back. What a little shit.

“Hey! Look here you” He laughed. Laughing with Taka was easy “I will not have you show me up in front of my favourite jacket like that”

As they continue to laugh and joke any sense of time went out the window. Mondo had thought Kiyotaka’s eyes had time controlling powers but now he was sure of it. Time either stretched out when he was looking directly into them and when he glanced at them in conversations time seemed to disappear. It was bittersweet when the thing you enjoyed doing the most ended up leaving you less time to do it.

“I feel bad for not going with them” Taka started and Mondo was a second away from kickin’ off again before he continued “But after coming out to the group I’m not in a dancing mood, I’d be terrible company”

Mondo couldn’t imagine the last part ever being true.

“I get ya” He moved to have his arm around the smaller man again and immediately felt him loosen up in his touch, as usual “We won’t be missin’ much”

Receiving an odd look the biker elaborated further. He kept forgetting Taka was new to the group, he didn’t feel new.

“Look, our nights out tend to follow a pattern. First the clever people ditch after pre-drinks so I guess we made that cut tonight” He smirked trying to get his friend to smile, it worked a bit, a small smile appeared on the vampire “Leon will drink too much, Hina will drink too much but don’t panic, Sakura will look after her. Sayaka will end up chattin’ to Makoto, Leon will make a fool out of ‘imself, someone might cry, 50/50 if a fight happens. Kyoko will observe the whole thing and then suggest they all go home. Hina will order the whole menu of a takeaway with Leon. And that’s about it”

God they were a train wreck of a group… And that’s only the usual people who end up out. God help them if Celestia or Junko end up going out with them…

“That sounds chaotic!”

“You’re tellin’ me! We really need someone to reign us in”

“I could do that” A suggestion came out from his friend. Hmm? 

“Okay” Mondo moved a bit so they were facing each other again “Game face on Ishimaru! Walk me through what you’d do!”

He knew his partner couldn’t resist a challenge, and as if on que the fire in those crimson eyes was back. 

“Leon and Hina drinking too much?” Mondo prompted.

“Get them to drink a glass of tap water between each drink” Taka replied determined “I’d tell them there’s a rumour that it’s the new hip trend or imply someone said they couldn’t do it”

“Sneaky! I like it” In fact he loved it when Taka did something questionably unethical, even something small like that “Next, Sayaka and Makoto chattin’”

“I don’t see anything wrong with that” Fair enough.

“Okay, Leon making a fool out of himself?”

“I’d join him so he didn’t feel so alone” 

“Not a great idea”

“Hmmm” Taka thought harder “Invite Leon to talk to me instead?”

Mondo gave him a little shrug and brought his hand up symbolise ‘maybe’.

“I don’t think Leon would make a fool out of himself if I can manage to make sure he doesn’t drink too much” Taka replied.

“You’d be surprised” 

“Mondo! Don’t be rude!”

He snorted and moved on.

“Someone cryin’?”

“I will bring tissues and console them” Hmm that would work.

“A fight?” 

“I believe I’m stronger than most of the men in the group, I would be able to break up the fight” Cocky bastard, Mondo smirked at the answer and then pointed at himself implying he would be the challenger.

“I said ‘most’” Taka clarified.

“What if I started a fight, say some dickhead is causin’ shit and I start to go over to teach ‘im a lesson”

Taka looked at him for bit.

“I’d grab you and hold you back?” He awkwardly replied “Or do something to surprise you?”

Ha! What could he do to surprise Mondo? 

If they were in a club and Mondo was looking out over the dancefloor, he sees some guy being a creep to the chicks working there. So like any man worth his salt, he would get up and go over there but suddenly he feels strong hands grab him. Whirling around he spots Taka looking up at him with those big red eyes and a frown obviously displeased at his current course of action. But what would he do to surprise the gang leader?

Punching him isn’t an option, that would just bring the fight here instead of over there, then what else? Hug him? That would throw him off, the sudden affection when his blood is pumping through his body ready for action would cause him to stop. Or maybe something else. Maybe Kiyotaka would slowly move his hands up Mondo’s arms until they reached his neck, then with a swift movement close the distance betwe--

“That probably wouldn’t work would it?” 

“I’m sorry, what?” Mondo replied shaking his head. What? Where was he?

“My idea, that’s not an adequate solution” Oh. Ooooooh. Oh. Oh that. Yeah.

Frowning, the other man moved to lean past him as he reached for the bottle of vodka. Mondo felt his face heat up as he had the guy over his lap but as quick as it started it ended and he moved back to his side of the bed and took off the lid of the bottle.

“I quite like this alcohol”

“I can tell” Mondo muttered dumbly. Blood? Hey blood? You’re needed back in the brain asap.

He felt the bottle being passed back to him and took a very needed drink. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How many hours had passed? What was the last thing he did before he fell asleep? Was he asleep? 

It was light. It was very light. Kiyotaka could tell even with his eyes closed that there was light in the room. Where was he? Did it matter? He wanted to rest for a bit longer. But that’s not very studious, shouldn’t his alarm have gone off by now? He should wake up.

Rolling over his hand collided with something. Something long? And thick? What? WHAT?

Bolting up and immediately regretted the quick action, he looked at the foreign object and saw it was a leg, or well, a pair of legs. He looked up the bed to find the owner. Mondo? Had he slept top and tail with Mondo? 

Looking around the room he recognised it was indeed Mondo’s bedroom. So he had slept over, probably sensible with how much they had drank, a quick examination of the surrounding area yielded 10 empty beer cans, 1 half empty beer can, 1 empty bottle of vodka and 3 cartons of juice? When did they get juice? Where did they get juice?

This was all too many questions for his brain to process and in fact his brain was struggling to do the bare minimum at the moment. He’d been hungover once before after one of his father’s work events but this time was so much worse, his mouth tasted awful and his head was screaming at him to go back to sleep. But the fear of not knowing what was going on was outweighing his need for more rest.  


He looked back over at Mondo, the iconic pompadour had been squashed out of existence during the night and his hair was now flopped in front of his face. It looked like he hadn’t managed to take off his makeup which was smudged, and he was also shirtless… Wait…

Checking himself he sighed in relief seeing his shirt and pants were intact, it was unhygienic but at least it limited the possibilities of what might have happened during the hazy parts of his memory. The only alterations to his outfit he could see was his waistcoat and cape were missing but he soon noted they were neatly folded on the back of a chair next to Mondo’s desk. Phew! He would have been horrified if he couldn’t give those borrowed items back to their owners.

“’s too early” A drowsy voice muttered. 

Taka hadn’t realised it but he’d subconsciously started fidgeting his feet which seemed to have woken up his comrade. They were next to his head after all.

“Sorry!” He bowed in shame. It was very rude to wake his host like this when he obviously wanted more rest.

He looked up and saw Mondo push himself up into a sitting position with a yawn. He just shook his head dismissing his apology and gave him a pat on the shoulder. They both had met in the middle of the bed in their respective sitting positions.

“Sleep well?” The taller man asked.

“I have no idea” He replied honestly earning a chuckle.

“Yeah me neither”

Mondo moved to pick up his phone and frowned before unlocking it.

“It’s 7am…” He looked at Taka with disgust “You naturally wake up at 7am?” 

“Normally 6am” He corrected. He liked to rise early, early bird gets the worm after all.

“Fuckin’ hell” Mondo shook his head and seemed to be looking for something on his phone. 

Letting his friend reacclimatise in whatever way he needed to, Taka moved to swing his legs over the side of the bed before a worrying feeling appear in his stomach.

“Mondo” He said gravely.

“Yeah?”

“The nearest bathroom?” He stood up and brought a hand to his mouth. Oh NO.

“What?” Mondo furrowed his brows before looking at him and catching on “OH! Go down the stairs and straight on! Go go go!” He shouted with wide eyes.

He didn’t need to be told twice.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As soon as Kiyotaka had left the room Mondo erupted in laughter. It was quite mean of him but he was thrilled to see the guy letting loose even if it came with repercussions. 

Getting off the bed he decided he should go check on him and try to help him out a bit. Doing a little stretch, he noticed he was topless but still had his jeans on from the night before, sighing he went over to the mirror to see the state he was in. 

He ran a hand through what he could of his hair and found a hair tie to keep it back for now, moving to take a closer look at his face he noticed he’d only taken off bits of his makeup, no wonder his eyes were stingin’. He changed into a pair of sweatpants and a tank top before hobbling around his room grabbing a few more things which would come in helpful like a small cloth and his phone before moving to exit his room.

As he made his way down the stairs he heard the undeniable sound of a man blowing chunks and mentally sent some wishes over to his friend, he’d be back in a minute with some more beneficial items. Continuing down the stairs he peered into the living room.

“Fucks sake” 

It was a fucking mess. There were cards everywhere, abandoned drinks, empty bottles and cans. Honestly could they not have like one friend who would clean up a little bit after partying?... Well maybe they did but he was preoccupied right now. 

Swearing under his breath he tiptoed around the carnage focusing on the floor and where he was putting his feet.

“God, is that you?” 

“FUCK!” Jumping and almost falling on the table he saw Leon was sprawled out on the couch looking like an actual corpse in only his boxers “The hell man!?”

“Mondo I’m dying” The other boy whined feigning he was in pain, oh he had no idea how close he was to being “Water… Please…”

Deadpanning at him Mondo rolled his eyes before making his way into the kitchen, he went to grab the box of paracetamol he’d had a couple weeks ago and shove them into his ever-growing inventory. He then went to grab two glasses, filled them with water and returned to the living room. 

When he got there he noticed Leon was now sat up. He still had that ridiculous clown makeup on…

“Sayaka kicked ya out of bed again?” He asked passing one of the glasses to him.

“Yeah, I was getting makeup everywhere apparently and I couldn’t be arsed washin’ it off” 

“That’s fair”

“I know right? I was way to-“ Leon began.

“No, that was fair of Sayaka” He finished shooting him a look “Your makeup looks like shit”

“Like you can talk! You have black and red on ya!” 

“YOU HAVE A CLOWN FACE!”

“Dude rude”

“No like a literal-“ He stopped seeing the redhead begin to laugh, oh fuck this “Good talk Leon”

Carrying on his journey he heard some intelligible pitiful sounds directed at him as he went up the stairs but he’d done his good deed for today. ‘Sides he was needed elsewhere. 

Giving a tentative knock on the bathroom door, he heard the toilet flush and a weak ‘come in’ before he went to open the door. Once in he turned to close it again giving them some privacy as he made his way over to Taka who was leaning against the bath next to the toilet. He looked like a wreck, but still gave Mondo a feeble smile as he went to sit besides him.

“These are for you” He set down the glass of water and put the paracetamol next to it.

Taka looked at them and then he looked at Mondo with the beginnings of tears in his eyes. Nope. He knew his friend was very emotional so he could see where this is going if he didn’t stop it now. 

Bringing out his phone he opened it back on the page he found when Taka left to empty his stomach. Hina’s social media page. Giving it to his friend he got a confused look back but at least it wasn’t the waterworks.

“Hina takes tones of fuckin’ photos when she’s out and posts them before sleepin” He explained “Thought ya might be worryin’ ‘bout leaving them so check it out”

The pint-sized swimmer was dangerous with a fully charged phone, in fact she was lethal when paired with Sayaka and the same weapon. Both girls would take enough photos to create an animation of the night’s activities. Hell if Mondo knows how they have so much storage on their devices.

He cringed to himself when he thought back to the time they took a photo by photo account of him helping out a bunch of chicks with their eyeliner. It was just ‘cause he always carried a spare eyeliner with him and he saw some girl had fucked up her makeup crying over some loser! And then suddenly he had a queue… And maybe he was drunk and ended up advising the line of women to become a gang and take down their shitty boyfriends… Yeah, he got chucked out that night.

“Thank you Mondo” Kiyotaka said as he accepted the phone and began swiping through the photos. Fuck! Would he find those photos if he went back far enough? 

“Yer welcome Taka” 

Getting back up so he didn’t have to think about all the embarrassing shit he might have been photographed doing, he moved to the sink and now dampened the cloth he had brought with him. It was his makeup towel, he wasn’t gonna fuck up the environment just ‘cause he liked to rock eye makeup, did people know how long it took makeup wipes to degrade and shit? A long fucking time. 

Anyway. He brought the cloth up to his face and started cleaning off some of the marks left over, where did the red come from? 

Once he finished, he wrung out the cloth and dampened it again. He then went back to the other man and crouched in front of him before folding the cloth over and putting it on his forehead, by the looks of it Taka seemed to have taken off his makeup last night. 

As Taka brought a hand up to keep the towel in place instead of his own, their hands brushed together and the biker tried not to wonder why his stomach did a small flip. ‘Tried’ being the optimal word there. He was lucky his hungover brain didn’t allow him to think too hard on the matter.

The smaller man then offer his phone back to him with another brush of fingers. And yet Taka just sipped his water so casually.

“They looked like they had fun” His friend smiled brightly.

“Yeah they always do, even with the cryin’ and fights” He added. They really were a resilient bunch.

“Oh! And I saw some photos of you! Did y-“

“Let’s talk ‘bout that later” He hurriedly replied. Mondo could not deal with that right now.

Standing back up he held out a hand for the other man to take. It was accepted gracefully once Taka put the drugs in his pants pocket and grabbed his water. They needed to get another nap in before they planned to do anything daunting like eat.

“You n’ me are gettin’ back in bed and havin’ a 3 hour nap” Mondo ordered as he started to walk back to the door “Don’t argue” He pre-emptively put out any refusals.

“But-“ A disapproving yawn came from his friend, at least Taka’s body seemed to agree with Mondo. With that he knew he’d sealed the deal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mondo looking after Taka is just something I can never get enough of <3


	7. Society Task

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The committee have a task of deciding a fundraiser for the group and they decide on a genderswap event. 
> 
> Celestia has a brilliant time.
> 
> Chihiro has a hard time but good friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW This chapter goes in on gender and my personal HC for Chihiro in this fic.  
> Chihiro HC: Gender fuild

“So I think we should do drag” Junko suggested.

“Drag?” Hiro questioned.

“Y’know when guys dress like girls and girls dress like guys?” Leon explained.

“Like crossdressing?” Sayaka asked.

“Girls versus boys!” Aoi cheered.

“G-gender reversal!? Hifumi exclaimed.

“Everyone! Please calm down!” Kiyotaka mediated.

Eventually all the squabbling became static. All the voices and their words turned into white noise which surrounded them in blanket that was too tight in an already too warm room. Chihiro’s ears felt like there was cotton in them and it was uncomfortable, everything in their body was telling them to leave. To escape this situation. The room was too small, there were eyes everywhere and they knew their breath was quickening, everyone would notice soon.

This all started when their committee came back from a society council meeting, apparently all the societies were to put on an event of some sort to raise money for a cause of their choice. After the Halloween party their society were adamant to do something for the LGBT+ community, no doubt as an indirect apology for putting Kiyotaka on the spot like that but did they really have to do this? 

Chihiro wasn’t a fan of drag nights… They understood they were fun and interesting to others but they posed a question onto them that they weren’t ready to answer. There would be extra scrutiny, they would have to tiptoe around conversations and jokes trying not to accidently out themselves. These events didn’t used to be this threatening but as they became more confused on how they viewed themselves it just added another obstacle on an already hard journey. 

**-Bzzt bzzt-**

The vibration from their phone brought them back to reality. Taking a second to slow their breath they retuned back to their surroundings. They were in a lecture room with all their friends, they were sat next to Toko and next to the aisle between two rows. It was the early morning, Hiro had complained about how Makoto and Taka were insane not to choose a more suitable time but they had rebutted saying that this was the best timeslot to fit around their university work, which it was. 

Everyone was still bickering by the looks of it so while the attention was elsewhere, they reached into their pocket to grab their mobile.

_Mon-Mon: Need me to cause a scene_

_Mon-Mon: ?_

_Mon-Mon: You can slip out_

‘Mondo…’

A sad smile graced their lips as they reread the messages. Why the programmer had chosen to sit so far away from their friend today was lost on them. Mondo was the only person on campus who knew their secret, Chihiro had confided in him due to their admiration of his strength, being a gang leader and biker with a frame like that implied might and masculinity. It was everything Chihiro wanted at the time. But it almost backfired.

They had confessed their secret to him in a gym session they’d requested and as soon as they had mentioned it the biker lost it. He screamed and shouted at them, if there weren’t others around they thought something extremely bad might of happened. In all honesty after that incident they never wanted to see Mondo Owada ever again however that was until he came over to their house to apologise, it was scary but something about the atmosphere coming from the man that day made Chihiro understand. He had a secret too and whereas Chihiro’s secret made them feel like they were crumbling in on themselves, his secret was a fire that would burn himself and everything around him to the ground. 

Forgiving him wasn’t easy. It was one of the hardest moments they had to get through, before the gym situation happened, they thought of the boy as their friend and being able to feel safe around him again took time. A lot of time. And a lot of therapy. The university had an onsite mental health resource and on the night he came to apologise he promised to attend the anger management sessions, after a few months they finally felt comfortable enough to be alone with the man again and since then Chihiro couldn’t imagine not having Mondo as their friend.

Especially during moments like these. 

_Chi: Please_

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Chi-Chi: Please_

‘On it’ He mentally replied back.

“There’s no way I’m wearing a fuckin’ skirt!” He slammed his fists down before standing up.

To be honest he didn’t have to fake the anger, he was pissed as soon as this subject got brought up, fucking around with gender and shit just ‘cause they all felt guilty for picking on Taka was bullshit! If they wanted to apologise they could do just that. Plus his bro didn’t even give a fuck, he was cool with Leon and the others when they had breakfast (…well lunch) the day after the party so why the hell were they all sucking up to him now. Taka had even dismissed the idea when it was first brought up but now they were getting all hyped up for it.

“Language Bro!” Taka scolded. Sorry man.

“Take a chill pill Mon” Junko lazily rolled her eyes “You scared it’ll make you less of a man?”

“Fuck no!” He shouted back. Chi stood up, no one had noticed. He needed to keep it up “Bro! Don’t you have anythin’ to say about this?!”

‘Come on Taka, bring the attention back to the front of the room so Chi can slip out the back’ He mentally projected. 

“Well! In certain cultures, men wear skirts without any discrimination, take the Scottish for example! The kilt is traditionally worn during weddings!” Taka declared.

“Yeah but we’re on about going the whole hog” Leon piped up again. Chi had made it to the door “I’m just sayin’ people would pay good money to see some people wear a skirt”

“That can’t be true” The Politics major replied.

“Yuh-huh! Everyone raise a hand who would pay to see Mondo in a skirt” Leon called. Sweet! Chi was out the room… WAIT.

Looking around the biker saw nearly every hand raised bar himself, Taka, Hifumi and Byakuya. What the fuck?! 

“What the fuck!?” 

“Then it’s decided! A genderflip event!” Leon hollered.

He looked at Kiyotaka pleading with his eyes, if anyone could save him it would be that man but all he got back was a look which could be better translated as an apology. 

“With eleven out of sixteen votes the motion is carried” Taka tiredly announced. 

“Hell yeah! Everyone partner up!” The redhead jumped for joy before running over to his girlfriend who giggled in response “I bagsy Sayaka!”

Well shit.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She had hit the jackpot. 

“Please take a seat Mr Ishimaru” She invited but really it was an order.

The man in question obeyed her request by hesitantly perching on the edge of her bed. It was the late afternoon after lectures had finished and they had taken the opportunity to organise the boy’s outfit for their society’s event. Well, not only them, his ‘bodyguard’ had also come of course, the two were practically glued at the hip so she was more than delighted when they had to split them up in order to attend their separate fittings.

So now she had him all alone. Tae- Celestia’s room was beautifully adorned with black, red and white fittings, lace embellishments and oddities from forgotten times, it was truly an exceptional scene. He should be honoured to be invited to such a place.

Kiyotaka Ishimaru. This was the prize she wanted to win from the start and of course her cunning ploys had lined up this partnership. He was the perfect choice for her after all! Their complexion, hair colour and eyes matched so wonderfully, she had no doubt he would be the best doll to dress up though she was a little irritated she wouldn’t be able to dress him as a butler. Oh well, she’d do the next best thing AND make him choose it all by himself. It was a delectable plan.

“Miss Ludenberg, thank you for offering to help me with my… Outfit, however I have some restrictions I would like to outline!” The boy asserted. Oh?

“Of course, please do go on” She prompted as she moved to her wardrobes to put together three outfits, careful not to let Ishimaru see them as she slid them into identical black garment covers.

“Ahem!” She assumed with that noise he had now stood up “My first rule is nothing indecent!”

“Do you believe what I wear is indecent?” She poked.

“N-No! Of course not! I just-“ He sputtered and she smiled.

“Relax Mr Ishimaru, I’m just joking” She peered over her shoulder obscuring the lower half of her face. He seemed to jump slightly in response, ‘perfect’ she gloated to herself.

People always assume that games could only be won once both players had entered the field, Celestia believed a game could be won much much earlier than that if played right. And she always played right.

The first garment bag was placed on the door of one of her wardrobes.

“R-Right! Hahaha! Good one!” He feigned understanding “My second rule is nothing excessively expensive! I would not like to risk ruining one of your gowns!” 

“Understood”

‘Risk ruining or become indebted?’ She mentally questioned, she had picked up on the fact the man seemed to opt for cost efficient options at every opportunity. Her original assumption was his grant or loan didn’t stretch far enough to cover his lodging comfortably but knowing Kyoko’s rent she ruled this out. The new theory she was pondering was whether his family had money problems.

Knowing this she didn’t play the same games she did with Byakuya with him. He didn’t deserve it and she wasn’t evil, she just liked to get what she wanted and that wasn’t always money, sometimes it was for her own amusement. 

The second garment bag was place on the wardrobe door next to the previous one.

“My third rule is nothing that is extremely uncomfortable” He exclaimed.

“Can you elaborate?” Her eyebrow twitched slightly at the unclear instruction.

“Er! Yes! No leather or corsets! Nor sequins or the like!” 

Hmm, that made sense to her. Since he would potentially wear this for a day it would make sense he would at least like the fabric to be kind to his skin. Well luckily for him all of her options were comfortable.

“That’s a fair request”

The third garment bag was hung on the last wardrobe door.

“Well Ishimaru, the choice is all yours!” She turned back to him and gleamed clasping her hands together “I’ve picked out three different outfits and placed them in these black coverings, one is a long dress which is very modest” She walked over to his side “One is office attire, I thought you may particularly like that one” And now she placed a hand on his shoulder “And one is a little bit more risky but that’s my personal favourite”

“Well in that case! The off-“

“Now now _Taka_ ” She grinned cutting him off “Would you humour me with a little game?”

Confused crimson eyes met playful ruby ones as she applied a bit more pressure into his shoulder with her nails.

“What do you mean?”

“Pick a number” She pointed at the first bag “One” then the next one “Two” then the last one “Three”

“I would rather-“

“Come on, it’s just a bit fun right?” Her voice came out ever so sweet “Plus you’d agree that two out of three is good odds?”

“Well yes” The man looked unsure, but he was breaking.

“One, two or three?” One last push.

“Three!” An anxious shout came out. Perfect.

Detaching herself from Ishimaru’s side and therefore relieving him from the pressure she was applying physically and mentally. The history student glided over to third garment bag and delicately pulled down the zip with her perfectly manicured nails.

“W-what! That’s--! I can’t!” Her mannequin squawked.

“Sorry Mr Ishimaru but this is the one you chose” She smiled at him before the corner of her lips twisted higher “Double or nothing for your choice of shoes?”

“Deal!” 

Jackpot.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I fuckin’ hate this” Mondo said to his own reflection in the full body mirror. 

Once the last round of lectures had finished him and Taka had agreed to go to the other house to sort out their fuckin’ costumes. He couldn’t believe they were doing this. He’d throw Leon’s toothbrush in the toilet when he got home. 

“I don’t believe it’s that bad” His partner spoke calmly as always.

“You don’t have ta wear a skirt” He shot back before realising how dumb he sounded. She always wore those little pleated skirts.

Sakura gave him a levelled look which let him know she was aware he had figured out how much of dumbass he was and she didn’t have to say it out loud. They had been paired together due to their similar stature, seemed like most of the girls were worried he’d fuck up their clothes and to be honest they were probably right. 

The Sport student had approached him first, she had pointed out their physical similarities and mentioned she had no intention of messin’ with him. As much as Hina tried to egg her on once she had found out they had paired up. Probably trying to get payback for the Halloween night.

If he was honest, Mondo didn’t mind the pair. Sakura was pretty cool, she was jacked as hell and he’d spared with her on occasion. She’d fuck him up every time but had this gentle air around her that encouraged him to come back and not feel like a total loser. He lasted longer against her than Leon or Hiro would anyway. Besides her sporty side though she was a good person to chill with, she didn’t get up in his shit or annoy him, the times they had hung out at parties or with their group they’d just chat and watch over the others. Nice girl. 

Hina was another story. She was always full of energy and loved poking him in the wrong places before running to hide behind her girlfriend or lately, Taka. He didn’t dislike her, she was fun and riled everyone up so he wasn’t singled out. She ripped into Byakuya one time and that was just one of his top ten moments to remember, she fuckin’ slapped him! He had this pink handprint on his face for hours, Mondo chuckled remembering it. So yeah, Hina was annoyin’ but she was fun. 

“I can’t see much of a difference in the outfit we’ve chosen to your usual attire” Sakura’s voice broke the silence.

Looking back at the mirror he took in his outfit. He’d taken his jacket off and it was currently laid on her bed so he just had on his white tank top and a long black skirt, she had called it a maxi skirt or something. When he had his legs close together it did look like his usual baggy pants. But it was weird! He could feel his thighs touch, it felt like he wasn’t wearin’ anything or that had towel wrapped around his waist.

“I don’t know, it’s just weird”

“It must feel odd if you’ve never worn one before” She agreed with a nod “If it makes any difference you still have your masculine air regardless of the skirt”

Meeting her gaze in the mirror he saw a small sign of sadness in her eyes. Ah shit. She would know more than anyone that just wearing a skirt wouldn’t change what people thought of your masculinity. It didn’t help that the boys house had called her ‘Ogre’ or some shit when they first met her, they were such dickheads, no wonder Hina had a vendetta against them. Sakura had forgiven them when they apologised but he wasn’t surprise Hina still got at them on the odd occasion, he couldn’t blame her, he’d give anyone hell if they said shit to Taka.

“Well, you pull off skirts a hell of a lot betta’ than I do” He tried to compliment her. And for what it was worth it was honest. She was pretty, not his type but she had this really nice comforting atmosphere around her, he could recognise that anyone would be lucky to have someone so level-headed and strong on their side. 

A subtle smile graced her lips, she knew he was trying right?

**-Bzzt Bzzt-**

He instinctively reached for his pockets and cursed remembering most skirts didn’t have pockets. Who’s fuckin’ idea was that? Did chicks not have phones or wallets? 

Walking over to his pants he rummaged through the pockets finding his device.

_Chi-Chi: Mon, you and Taka are at ours right?_

Oh yeah, he’d messaged them when they had agreed to stop by. Maybe Chi wanted to take him up on his gaming challenge.

_Mon: yeah whats up?_

_Chi-Chi: Could you both come to my room?_

_Mon: gaming?_

_Chi-Chi: I want to tell him_

_Chi-Chi: about me_

Fuck. Really? Mondo felt his stomach drop and it wasn’t even his thing to tell. Sure he trusted Taka to hell and back but he didn’t realise Chihiro did too.

_Mon: If your sure_

_Chi-Chi: I’ve thought about it for a while._

_Chi-Chi: I’m ready._

_Chi-Chi: Please come as soon as possible._

_Mon: Course_

Staring down at his phone he let a breath out before he gathered his pants and jacket, he could change later, he wasn’t about to make his friend wait any longer than necessary. 

“I gotta go Sakura, am I good to bring the skirt back after this whole shitshow’s over?” He asked looking back at the taller woman.

He received a confused reaction but Sakura quickly resumed her usual contemplative look. Giving him approval, she waved him off as he left the room and made his way over to Celestia’s.  


It was helpful that the first floor in this house consisted of Sakura, Celestia and Chihiro while the downstair rooms were where Junko and Mukuro lurked. Now that he thought of it maybe that was on purpose.

Knocking on the door he waited for a response. 

“Who is it?” A muffled sickly-sweet voice came. He had a bad feeling about leaving Taka with her but there wasn’t time to dwell on that now. 

“It’s Mondo, I need Taka to come with me” Shit! He hadn’t thought of an excuse “Err Chi needs help with something important!”

“Oh really, hmm?” Her voice replied. The door didn’t budge. Bad vibe.

“Mondo!” A familiar voice exclaimed, at least he wasn’t dead “Just one moment!”

“Chi really needs us now man” Mondo urged.

The door started to open revealing Celestia’s picture perfect smile. Baaad vibe. A squark from Taka also sounded off as the door opened wider though he still couldn’t see him. She stopped opening it at halfway.

“One moment!” His friend shouted.

“I think you’ll love my choice” She said lacing her hands together and putting them under her chin. Huh?

“What do you mean?” He gave her a confused look back.

“Your skirt looks lovely by the way” She smirked. Now wait a minu-

Before he could finish that thought, Taka burst out of the room wrapped in his long beige coat that he’d walked over in and had a bag in his hand. Probably had his skirt or whatever Celestia had given him in it. 

“Bye bye” She waved them off. Bad. Vibe.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ensuring the coat was secured around his frame he relaxed a little once he confirmed it wouldn’t come undone. In his rush this was all he could for now and it irked him to no end but if Chihiro needed his support with something he would of course prioritise their needs over his comfort! Or dignity… 

“What’s with the coat? We’re not leavin’ yet” Mondo asked as he guided them to Chihiro’s door.

“I--… I’m cold! I’ll keep it on for now!” Kiyotaka replied with a lie. He needed to get out of this habit.

The biker gave him a look that he didn’t quite believe him as they stopped in front of a room.

“Did ya get taller to--?” His friend started and began to look down. No!

“Didn’t Chihiro need us urgently!” He shouted, bringing the attention straight back up to his face.

“Oh yeah!” Mondo’s eyes had locked with his own again. Phew! “Just…” 

Tilting his head Kiyotaka noticed an emotion in the other’s eyes that he couldn’t identify, maybe this was something he needed to be more socially inept to understand. For now, he remained silent while the other carried on.

“Just listen to them, kay? This is important” The taller man finished and put both of his hands on Taka’s shoulders. 

Staring at lavender eyes he tried his best to figure out what his friend meant. Okay, so he should be quiet and listen? Kiyotaka was aware that he sometimes overpowered conversations and it was hard for others to get out what they needed to when he was so enthused on his own trail of thinking. He would be extra cautious with this when they see Chihiro. And this was important? Well, he would argue that all his moments with his friends were important! But somehow, he understood that this could be a vital moment for his friendship with the young programmer.

“Okay!” He replied with determination. He would not mess this up! 

Mondo nodded at him before rapping his knuckles against the door, it took a few moments but soon Chihiro opened it. She was dressed in an oversized green hoodie, black leggings and some pale green fuzzy socks, Taka wished he was dressed as comfortably. However, while her face had a smile he could see the nervousness in her eyes as she let them in.

“Hey guys, c-come in” She nervously stepped aside as they entered the room “S-sorry for the short notice”

“’s fine” His counterpart said as he ruffled her hair and then moved to drop himself on Chihiro’s bed. Manners! Kiyotaka would have to pull him to the side later and remind him that he should ask before he uses someone’s bedroom so causally!

“Not at all Chihiro! Thank you for inviting us to your room!” He beamed at her, causing her to jump slightly. 

Walking into the room he examined the contents. There was a computer with several monitors on a desk and a laptop which resided on a dresser, the latter was most likely placed there due to recent use rather than where it usually is positioned. She also had a TV near her wardrobe with some bean bag chairs next to it and a console of some sort. Besides all the machines, the room also hosted a small set of weights and exercise equipment, always good to value one’s health! And the rest of the room’s aesthetic was cosy, there were blankets and soft items scattered, Kiyotaka could imagine it would be very easy to relax here. 

As he was about to comment on the room he stopped himself remembering Mondo’s words, if he rambled on about the room he would distract from Chihiro’s reason for inviting them here. So he kept his lips shut and made his way to the chair at the desk, wobbling slightly on the carpeted floor, ‘These shoes’ he grimaced. Turning back to look at his friends he realised they were too busy fussing over Mondo’s skirt to notice his stumbles.

He hadn’t noticed Mondo’s skirt till now actually! It was so much like his usual pants Taka had no doubt that Sakura had ensured to keep his preferences in mind when choosing it. It looked nice on him! But as he mentioned he thought it looked like his usual outfit.

“Chihiro, do you mind if I sit on this?” He referenced the chair with a blanket folded on its back. 

She had positioned herself next to Mondo on the bed. She gave him a small nod before returning to hand Mondo a large plush toy which he immediately used to lean on. Kiyotaka moved the chair over to the edge of the bed and sat down, quickly putting the blanket over his legs.

Once he had joined the group the other’s quiet conversation died down and the trio looked at each other. Mondo gave him another confused look, probably for having a coat and a blanket on but luckily Chihiro started to speak which got their attention.

“So” She started and immediately winced due to what Taka assumed was the pressure of having eyes on them “I--… I invited you over b-because…” This wasn’t going to work…

“Chihiro” He used the softest voice he could and the other two seemed to realize this “How about we look away while you talk to us? I’ve been told myself and Mondo’s gaze can be quite intimidating”

“Said who!?” His friend barked.

“Not now Mondo, though you’re proving the point” He reprimanded before looking at the young woman. 

“Umm!” She started “Okay, thank you Taka”

Nodding he turned to focus elsewhere. He looked at Mondo who was now watching the floor as he nibbled his bottom lip. ‘He’s worried’ Taka noted, he was aware of some of the biker’s habits after spending so much time together. Choosing a spot to focus his own attention he chose to watch the screen saver on Chihiro’s laptop as it flipped through photos of her with her friends, he noticed quite proudly that he featured in 1 or 2 photos.

“I’m just going to come out and say it” Chihiro broke the silence with a confident voice though Taka could tell the nerves were still there “I’m… I’m not a girl”

What?

“I--… I don’t really know what I feel like, I was born a boy but…” Some shakiness started to come through “As a child I was always mocked and bullied for being too feminine, boys would constantly say I was girl and girls would laugh at me so in high school I just started dressing like a girl and…” 

Taka felt his own heart beat faster, out of nerves on behalf of his friend or for anger hearing someone having to experience such an awful thing so young. He was bullied too for his own mannerisms and beliefs but to hear they were bullied about their own identity turned his stomach.

“High school was nice…” Huh? “Dressing as a girl meant the boys didn’t bullying me for being too girly because I was girl to them, even girls began inviting me to lunch and we could talk about fun things rather than sports or gross stuff. It felt good to be a girl, it felt natural, like I was meant to be… S-so I began identifying myself this way… But then came college and I saw the boys in my year getting stronger, having broader shoulders, becoming more masculine and something inside of me desperately wanted to be that way too” 

It was now Taka noticed he could hear Chihiro’s breath. It was starting to get quicker, most likely due to panic; they wouldn’t know what he’s thinking. He needed to show them he was listening and supporting them without disrupting them so while keeping his view strictly on the laptop he move to put one of his hands on the bed, palm side up. If they needed to take his hand they could, he hoped this gentle gesture would be enough for now.

He heard Mondo snort, he probably saw his offer and found it amusing for some reason. Soon Taka felt a small hand grip his own and he wrapped his fingers around it.

“So I don’t know-w what I am or what I want, some days I like being a girl and other days I want to be a man and become more m-masculine” He could hear tears “I’m so confused, I don’t know what I want to be or do… Or who to be” ‘You are Chihiro’ he thought back “That’s what I wanted to tell you, I-I’m sorry for being like this” That was it. 

Immediately he shot his eyes back to the young person to see them crying with Mondo hugging them with his head resting on top of theirs, their hand was now tightly holding Kiyotaka’s own. Both of them looked at him when he turned back.

Taking a deep breathe he stood up, couched to be eye level with Chihiro and brought their other hand into his other hand. He was now looking deep into their eyes and giving them small strokes on the back of their hands with his thumbs.

“Chihiro” Kiyotaka started “First of all, thank you for trusting me with this information, I promise you that you have nothing to fear with me knowing your secret. I will never tell a soul as it’s not my business to say and I only see you as a stronger person now that I know this” 

Chihiro was still crying but the hiccups had now become sniffles. He was aware of the way Mondo was watching him, like a hawk, almost evaluating him on how he was reacting. Assuming the other man already knew this information, and after he recalled what the other said before they came into the room he was sure that this was the case, he wasn’t surprise he was being so protective. 

“I won’t say I understand or that that I know how you feel because there is no way I could, but I can sympathise with how daunting it is to ‘come out’ so to speak” He thought back to when he came out to his family and when he was found out in college but didn’t dwell on that now “Just know I think you’re a very strong individual, as a man and as a woman you showed bravery both now and at the party when you gave me chance to speak”

The hands he was holding squeezed his own.

“And who’s to say you have to choose one over the other, if some days you feel more comfortable as a woman and then the other days you feel better to identify as a man that’s okay” When he looked into sexuality due to his own confusion he’d learnt about terms like non-binary and gender fluid, maybe these terms would be helpful to his friend.

“But people s-say it’ll be confusing or-r” More tears spilled over as Chihiro recounted what they undoubtedly read in comments online.

“Chihiro” He squeezed their hands until he got their attention back “If they can take the time to learn the latest social media applications or celebrity gossip they can take the time to learn your preferred pronouns”

Earning a sniffle from Chihiro and a proud smile from Mondo, Taka stood up and let go of the small hands he was holding so he could put his hands on his hips.

“And if anyone purposely tries to make you feel uncomfortable or is abusive in any way, I insist you report the matter to me so I can apply the correct punishment” He ordered.

A smile made it’s way to Chihiro’s face, the first one he had seen since they had started their current conversation. He was glad to see their crying had stopped now and that their breath sounded more natural again. That was, until he noticed their gaze dropped from his face to the bottom of his coat. Which was now unshielded from the blanket…

“U-Umm… Taka are you wearing tights?” They brought a small hand their mouth as they moved to look at his feet “And heels?”

“What?!” Mondo also moved to look at his feet.

“I ERR…!” Kiyotaka exclaimed but quickly deflated, there was no way of getting out of this “I… Lost a bet with Celestia…” 

Both of his friends looked up at him and then at each other before Chihiro giggled.

“Taka… What are you wearing under the coat?” They asked in an innocent tone but their eyes were anything but.

“Man, I told you not to bet with that chick!” That was true, Mondo had given him tips on all the members of their group, it worried Taka you needed warnings for their friends. 

“Taka, can we see?” Chihiro giggled.

“I lost two bets with her to be more accurate” He sighed in defeat “And I came straight here when Mondo got me!”

Well darn. He had no idea how he thought he could get away with this. Of course they’d notice eventually! Moving to undo his coat he could feel the heat rise on his cheeks. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chihiro watched as their friend fiddled with their coat’s fastening. They really appreciated his acceptance and words, they never doubted Kiyotaka would be anything but accepting however it was a relief to know they had his support. Since he had joined the group he seemed to have brought with him a sense of order which was needed, not that he would put down all their fun but he actively looked to make sure things were fair and everyone got a voice. A very good attribute for a leader.

But on the matter of the coat, they were already sensing Celestia hadn’t been kind. Moving to sit back again they poked Mondo to do the same since his gaze seemed to be locked on his friend. As they both backed off Taka removed his coat to reveal-

“A fuckin’ maid’s outfit!” Mondo answered… Or screamed.

The programmer started laughing. Kiyotaka was indeed in a French maid’s outfit, the black and white ensemble had elements of lace all over and the skirt bloomed out to reach mid-thigh… Wait…

“Stockings!?” Mondo shouted at the garment in question. 

He had on stockings and black heels, which to be fair when he had the long coat on you could of mistook for his usual black boots, if you weren’t paying attention, which they and Mondo seemed to have not been. Taka started pushing down the front of skirt before shouting at them. 

“Staring is very rude no matter the reason!” Taka disciplined.

“DUDE!” The biker shouted as Chihiro’s laugh got louder.

“Bro! I had no choice!” 

“You have lingerie on!”

“I DO NOT! I have stockings on!” 

“Stocking ARE lingerie! You CAN NOT wear that out!”

As they continued to go back and forth Chihiro carried on giggling. Mondo’s face was burning red, Chihiro had a few suspicions why but kept them to themself for now, that was his business to figure out. Taka was also very flustered for obvious reasons, though Chihiro thought he looked cute once you got over the hilarity of the situation. 

“Like I said! I lost a bet so I’ve ended up in this!” With that Kiyotaka took his seat again and folded his arms with a pout. Chihiro gave him a little signal to close his legs together and he yelped before crossing one leg over the other. 

Looking at Mondo they saw the man had a palm pressed against his face, his eyes were scrunched shut and his complexion was still quite red. Chihiro couldn’t help but think Aoi and Sayaka were right when they said they were both as dumb as the other, though they maybe dumb wasn’t the right word. Maybe oblivious fit better. 

“How about we watch a film?” They suggested trying to get both of the men to relax. 

Two pairs of intense eyes zoned back in on them, and they mentally heard Taka’s voice from before. They scratch the back of their head before moving to get off the bed and walked towards their laptop. 

“I would like to watch a film if that’s okay? Taka you can sit on the bed too” They smiled at both of the boys who eventually started shuffling around again. 

“That sounds like an excellent idea Chihiro! Thank you for being so gracious” Taka smiled back.

Mondo moved back to his original seat and Chihiro took a mental note that Taka chose to sit on the other side of Mondo opposite to the side Chihiro had been sitting at before. The pair were still having a conversation on how Kiyotaka had to get changed before they left today. Letting them continue their moment they went to set up the laptop.

As Chihiro returned to the bed they moved to sit next to the pair and began idly chatting as the film started. This wasn’t the outcome Chihiro had expected from coming out to Taka, with two men sat in skirts on their bed as they watched a film, but it was certainly an appreciated outcome. 

Tonight, for the first time in a long time they felt a calmness wash over them, it was a welcomed feeling and the support from two wonderful people more so. Kiyotaka was right with what he had said and Chihiro would spend some more time thinking about this, but right now they were excited to watch a film with their friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chihiro <3
> 
> The society event went great: Taka was best dressed, Mondo racked up the most donations, Chihiro came in a suit and the boys were proud dads.
> 
> Celestia (Celeste?) is one of my favourite designs and her character is FUN! Loves it. 
> 
> There is a lot of great art of Taka in maid costumes and he looks fantastic.
> 
> My tumblr is: perse-phone2000  
> Feel free to come chat! 
> 
> Also my chapters are getting longer and longer -sweats- Oh! Also I upload weekends (usually Sundays), I realised I never mentioned that before.  
> The next chapter will be winter = Cosy vibes!


	8. Markets and a Phone Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Market season is afoot! 
> 
> Mondo has a rough time and takes it out on the wrong people.
> 
> TW mentions of Anixety and Panic Attacks  
> Also i'm sorry it's way loooong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're gonna get whiplash over the next few chapters as we go through Christmas, New Year and Valentines. This fic will destroy your sense of time (does anyone even have that any more anyway?).
> 
> This fic has been blessed with art and I CAN NOT ;;  
> Link: https://nicorii.tumblr.com/post/642043835258732544/i-drew-fan-art-for-perse-phone2000-based-on-their  
> -I've been staring at it since it was posted and will never be over it, it sparks so much joy-

“ _~It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas~_ ”

‘It really is’ Kiyotaka thought to himself. Looking around he admired the scene in front of him, the city put on a Christmas market every year where local artisans and groups could set up their stalls to sell their wares. Each stall looked like a little wooden cabin and could fit two merchants inside, there was a display cabinet in the front and space behind to store stock of their chosen merchandise. As well as the local communities taking up stalls each society in the university were also offered one, which is how he found himself and Hina manning their current station.

Outside it was picturesque too. The sun had set and there was a delicate layer of snow coating the streets and any available surfaces it could reach, some perfectly untouched and others with handprints, small snowmen, or missing sections he assumed would have been used for snowballs. The streetlights had begun to switch on offering a cosy glow to those who wondered out in this weekend afternoon. 

“Oh boy” Hina let out a sigh as she rocked back in her chair “I don’t mind Christmas songs but this has definitely been on a billion times now”

“Hina, Please! Think about your safety!” He cautioned, she moved the chair back to have all four legs on the floor much to his delight “And it’s been on 6 times, a billion is improbable”

“Mmm” She hummed back “Feels like it though” 

Shaking his head he moved to reorganise their merchandise, their society had pulled together a small haul, it consisted of a holiday themed comic book created by Mr Yamada, strictly PG material of course. They also had CD’s with Sayaka’s music on them, some chocolates Sakura and Hina had made together, a few curious items from Mr Hagakure (where they came from Taka couldn’t get a straight answer). As well as a few random pieces which the collective managed to put together. There was no way to make this display cohesive but that didn’t stop him from trying. 

“Yo bro” A familiar head of bleached hair appeared in front of his side of the stall. 

“Mondo! Hello!” He greeted and leant over the display slightly.

“Hey Mon!” Hina shouted before some customers came over to her side of the stall.

The biker gave her a wave before focusing back on Kiyotaka. Mondo was wearing his usual attire but his coat was zipped up to his chest to account for the colder weather and instead of his typical pompadour his hair was put back into a bun. Though Taka noticed he could still see part of the other’s collarbone which meant he was still only wearing one of those white tank tops under his coat! That would not do! 

He moved quickly to the back of the stall which caused him to get a curious look from his friend before he returned with his own scarf. Not giving the other man a minute more to figure out his plan he grabbed the two ends of the scarf and chucked it around Mondo’s neck pulling him closer to the stall so he could tie a loose knot. 

“H-Hey! Bro! Watch it” The taller man sputtered, he stumbled clumsily as Taka did his task “I don’t need it! ‘m fine!”

“Don’t disregard your health so flippantly! You must dress appropriately for the season!” Once satisfied he let go of his friend who now sported a pink dusting on his cheeks and a warm scarf, he heard Hina’s giggle off to the side somewhere.

“Sure whatever” Mondo huffed out “Anyway, you finish your shift now don’t ya? Let’s go look around the other stalls! Check out the competition” He finished with a wink.

“Mondo, I have another” Taka checked his wristwatch “4 minutes until Miss Kirigiri and Mr Togami’s shift starts” 

“4 minutes… Really?” Mondo raised an eyebrow at him. Did he not believe him?

“Go on Taka! I’ll pass over to those guys!” Hina cheerfully supplied. 

“But what if you get a rush of customers!” 

“Umm… It’s like 5pm Taka, there aren’t many people still shopping” She gestured to the dramatically less busy market site “Plus I have to hang ‘round anyway, my shift on swimming society’s stall starts at 6pm”

“I suppose” He pondered, there wouldn’t be much chance of anything unexpected happening. 

“Yeah, plus ya only have 3 minutes left now and y’know I’m sure if we keep going in circles you’ll soon have 2 or possibly even 1 minute left” Mondo joked, Taka could tell he was joking by him looking dramatically at his wrist which did not have a watch on it. 

“I get your point Owada” Taka passively aggressively scolded. He didn’t call Mondo by his last name anymore besides during introductions or when he was being mischievous.  
Moving around to gather his personal items and ensure Hina didn’t have too much to do when the other’s came for their shift, he pulled on his long beige coat and gloves before giving his friend a salute goodbye as he stepped out the stall. 

“There he is and would you look at that! It’s 5pm on the dot” Mondo carried on with his rambunctious behaviour. It really wasn’t hard to see why Kiyotaka had mistaken him for a delinquent when he acted like this “Y’know I can see yer smilin’” Dang!

“That is a merely a reaction from being in your company! I am not smiling at your sarcastic quips!” He shot back walking to his partner’s side as they began their perusing.  
Mondo’s slight blush had returned for some reason. Maybe the cold weather. 

They meandered around the other stalls in the site, there were some food and drinks stalls were Mondo got them hot chocolates and there were sweet stalls were Kiyotaka got Mondo some candyfloss and himself some liquorice of later. Having sweets on top of hot chocolate was much too gluttonous and encouraged unhealthy eating habits yet he didn’t scald Mondo, it was almost Christmas after all. 

As the biker threw away his trash Kiyotaka spotted something over his shoulder.

“Oh!” An excited exclamation came from his lips as he wandered off.

“Hey! Where ya-… Oh?” Mondo started to question but lost his words as he saw the stall.

This stall was much bigger, it looked like an actual cabin but with a wall taken down exposing it’s contents, which was dozens and dozens of lit glass lanterns. It looked truly wonderous illuminating the snowy setting! Kiyotaka immediately made his way in and saw a few desks of vendors, he assumed a few sellers had put a group together in order to put on such an incredible display. Next year he would have to take inspiration and do the same! He made a note to get a few business cards on his way out. 

Looking back to show his friend the items they had available he stopped in his tracks. Mondo was looking up at one of the lights, tentatively reaching up to touch it. In that moment Kiyotaka would say his friend was the most beautiful thing in the shop, the light lit up his features in a way that took Taka’s breath away. 

Mondo must have sensed he was being watched because he turned towards Taka and pointed up at the light he’d been looking at with a grin of amazement. Taka on the other hand could only dumbly nod in agreement before he went further into the cabin, he needed some time away from Mondo so he could remember what words were, it felt like he had short circuited.

As he continued to reclaim his bearings, he noticed a few shelves of wooden crafts. Aha! Things he could talk about with his friend! 

“Mondo! Come see this!” He beckoned the other student over.

The taller man made his way to him and peered over his shoulder, humming in appreciation at the small wood statues and knick knacks.

“You could make something like this next time!” Taka beamed.

His friend didn’t talk a lot about his university studies however Kiyotaka adored hearing about it when he would. Woodwork or tech classes were never his forte, he preferred more academic studies. Not that he ever failed the other classes of course! He would just have to work a lot harder to achieve an A than he would in the latter. So, when Mondo told him he was studying woodwork on the arts campus he was more than thrilled! Maybe he could inspire him to have a love for the crafts, surely with his friend his passion for the subject would only grow.

“Ha! As if I could make somethin’ like that” Mondo joked but something bitter rang in his voice.

“I’m sure you could!” If there was something Taka excelled in more than his studies it was his motivational efforts “In fact by this time next year I’m sure you could create items to rival these!”

“No, I can’t” The biker spat. Huh?

“Come on bro!” Taka turned to face the other man properly. Mondo now hung his head down avoiding his eyes which hit his confidence “Y-You’ll be achieving such feats in no time!” 

“Look, I said I can’t, okay? I ain’t gentle ‘nough to do shit like that and I’m not exactly smart enough to create anythin’ useful” Intense lilac irises now glared at him. Where was this coming from? “Just lay off will ya!?”

“What do you mean Mondo! Of course you’re capable of creating such things!” He exclaimed getting a bit of attention directed their way which seemed to agitate Mondo more “And I’ve never once doubted your intelligence!”

“Just let it go, ‘kay? You’re fuckin’ wrong and I don’t want to talk ‘bout this shit” The biker seethed in a hushed tone.

“You boys into woodworkin’?” One of the older vendors had now made his way over to them with a hopeful expression. He looked like a kind man though his eyes held a cautionary look at Mondo, Kiyotaka would usually challenge this since the world seemed to judge the taller man before they got to know him, much like he himself did, but with the atmosphere radiating from his friend it was logical for the seller to be wary. 

“For fuck sake” Mondo muttered looking away from the man. 

Taka didn’t know what had caused his friend’s bad mood but it didn’t warrant disrespectful behaviour.

“Mondo! Don’t be rude” He began to reach for Mondo’s shoulder in an attempt to bring him into the conversation, maybe they could still salvage this, and this man might share tips on his craft “Hello Sir! My friend here is stu-“

A rough whack to his hand interrupted his introductions and he looked over at the biker with furrowed brows, a weaker person might have been knocked off kilter, but Taka stood firm. 

“Mo-“ He began.

“Fuckin’ hell! Can you not take a hint?” The biker glared at him. He had seen Mondo fired up before, it was how they met, but this… His eyes held no burning passion, just a dull emptiness….

“Mondo?” Confusion took over his face and his body almost instinctively tried to reach out again before he stopped himself. 

“Just don’t start Ishimaru!” Mondo let out a long breath through his teeth “Fuck this!” 

And with that his friend started to storm off. Hearing his last name from his normally informal companion made his stomach twist into knots, what had he done to displease him so much?

“Sorry” The middle-aged man started as he awkwardly looked at Kiyotaka “Is he going to be okay?” 

“I-…” Was he? Should Kiyotaka go after him?

 _'Can you not take a hint?'_ Mondo’s voice rang in his ears, no he can’t. Kiyotaka didn’t get social cues as quickly or as easily as other people but he was sure he had already told the other that. Maybe this was a situation he needed to approach differently than just actioning his first immediate thought.

His first immediate thought was to chase down Mondo and stay with him until whatever this was ended.

So he wouldn’t do that.

“I don’t know” He replied to the man who just gave him a sad look in return. Taka couldn’t blame him, this wasn’t a satisfactory plan of action, to do just nothing. Thinking harder he had an idea but wasn’t sure of its effectiveness or whether it would yield a desired outcome. Still doing something is better than nothing “But I have a request! Can you help me?” 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh hell to the no, Leon wasn’t gonna accept a punishment for a crime he didn’t commit.

“What the fuck man!?” He yelled at his attacker. Shit! His face hurt like a bitch! 

“Seriously uncool Mon!” Hiro began helping the redhead up from the floor.

“Would everyone just get the FUCK out of my way?!” Mondo barked as he shoved past them before stalking up the stairs. 

Allowing himself to be helped up, Leon kept a hand on the side of his face that just got sucker punched by the brute. He wouldn’t mind if he had actually done something to earn it, but he was INNOCENT. Though, to be honest he would still be a bit pissed if he was guilty.

“What the hell is up with him?” Leon gestured to the ceiling with his free hand as he heard a door slam.

“Dunno man, do you think it’s a triggered thing?” Hiro supplied as more slams and clashes came from upstairs. 

Oh yeah. It could be that. Suddenly the annoyed anger in him got replaced by a bad feeling deep in his gut. 

A couple weeks after they had all moved into the house they had seen first-hand one of Mondo’s meltdowns. In the beginning no one could figure out what the fuck had happened, everyone was getting on all great and stuff and then Mondo came home one day and started fucking up his room. Their deposit would have been canned if they didn’t manage to get a hold of the dude’s brother. Ever since that time it began happening more frequently, the worst instance being when he fell out with Chi. Fuck knows what she said to him but he held up in his room for a day or two before Yasuhiro and the brother managed to pick the lock. 

After that it did become more irregular but shit man, this wasn’t like his pissy screaming matches, when he got like this he was violent. Proof of this was Leon’s slowly forming black eye. 

One time after sorting out one of his episodes Daiya Owada, the big brother, actually sat them down, without Mon, to explain something. His brother mentioned Mondo would get triggered by horns, specifically truck horns or something like that as well as a few other things. And as much as everyone doubted the boys house could function on the single braincell they all shared, they did manage to put two and two together. Mondo was triggered by horns, his brother was bed bound for ages after an accident, obviously there was some shit that went down there.

“We should get some ice on that” Makoto had been nervously watching from the living room, Leon would call him a pussy but to be honest it was a smart move. 

“Yeah” He groaned “D’ya think we could tell Sayaka I was defending her honour or fightin’ off a mugger?”

“Sure man, you’re a hero in our books”

Hearing a few chuckles helped wash away the bad feeling he had from before. 

The three boys moved to the kitchen where Makoto wrapped some ice in a tea towel and passed it over to him. He nodded a thanks before applying it to his eye and sucked a breath in through his teeth, damn Mondo had a powerful left hook. 

“Should we warn Fumi?” Hiro started.

“N-Negative good sirs!” Aye, the gang’s all here! Kinda… “I heard all the commotion and thought it would be advantageous to stay in the pack”

“Solid thinkin’ man” Leon praised.

“So, what do we do now?” Makoto refocused the group.

“I’ll ring his brother” Hiro began whipping out his phone.

This was the usual solution, the only one who could manage to cool down the big guy was his own flesh and blood so after the first time this occurred the older Owada gave his number to them in case they needed it. 

Leon liked Daiya, in fact everyone in their group liked Daiya, he was a cool guy and could get on with all of them which was a talent in itself, their personalities varied so wildly. The guy just had this magnetism and even Leon had to admit when both of the brothers were together they were an incredible duo. Daiya was the charm and wits, Mondo was the brawn and passion. Maybe he’d be able to snag an invite to one of their gang meets this summer, that would be rad as fuck.

“He’s not picking up” Hiro pouted at the phone “I’ll text him”

“Now what?” Leon sighed and put down the makeshift icebag. He tried not to focus too much on how Hifumi gawked at his face.

A clash rang through the house and all of them jumped. If they didn’t figure this out soon they’d end up getting another noise complaint, and god knows they were in the bad books with their landlord, no doubt Mondo was in worse ones. 

“What about Taka” Makoto suggested. What?

“You’re jokin’ right? He’d snap him like a twig!” Leon rebutted. Taka wouldn’t last 10 minutes with the guy!

“The dude’s ripped y’know?” Hiro added as he started to put his phone away.

“Fuck off” No way.

“No seriously!” Makoto enthused “Hina told me so! They go swimming together” He now got his own phone out.

Really? That nerd was jacked under his white ironed shirt? The redhead still wasn’t convinced, from what he knew of the guy he didn’t come across as a particularly sporty or physical person, how would he have had the time to get any muscles when he was so busy studying? Still those two did have a ‘bro’ connection. Maybe this Plan B Bro would be an alright substitute… 

“Fine” Leon agreed “Let’s send him in, but if it goes tits up none of us ever knew a Kiyotaka Ishimaru and Makoto you have to throw your phone in the ocean.”

“Deal!” Roll on Plan B.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He knocked on the door exactly three times as always. It had been maybe 12 minutes since he had been called for by Makoko, how foolish of himself for letting Mondo walk away like that! Of course he should of pursued him but he had been so confused in which order to follow, he frowned at the letterbox as he mulled over his thoughts. 

Just as he was about to knock again the door opened and he met the sight of Leon holding a cloth to his left eye. Oh no, what had his friend done?

“Kuwata! Are you alright?” Instinctively he reached out to move the towel away and hold the other’s face in his hands. He began examining the damage though the other man struggled in his grasp. The eye was red and the skin around it was swelling, he’d definitely have a sizeable bruise tomorrow.

“Yo Taka! Get off dude” The redhead pushed him off and backed away. It would make sense he wouldn’t want anyone else getting too close to his face, he might have assumed Kiyotaka would hurt him.

“Taka! I’m so glad you’re here!” Makoto appeared at his side and began leading them into the living room where Yasuhiro and Mr Yamada were waiting. 

All the boys had worried expressions on their faces, even the eldest who though smiling had his brows furrowed giving off a nervous energy. He moved to remove his coat and gloves while he recounted what he’d been told on the phone.

“So, Mondo returned here, assaulted Mr Kuwata and has now started vandalising his room, is that correct?” 

“Gee, I don’t know, I thought my eye was always this red” Leon quipped at him, he could recognise this as sarcasm. Leon did this a lot apparently.

“That’s correct Taka” Makoto glared at the Leon “We don’t know what set him off, he has a few things that trigger him like loud horns”

“H-high pitched screeeeching!” Hifumi added.

“Truckers that speed” Hiro offered.

“People being nice to him” Hmm? “’gets all pissy for no reason” 

It was an offhand comment from the musician and he didn’t think the others paid it much thought but this clicked for Taka. 

Mondo’s admission of his own lack of believe in his leadership in the sauna, his reference to understanding how unhelpful thoughts could spiral on Halloween, his reaction to Taka’s motivation today…  
Belief in his positive traits or what he thinks are unwarranted claims of his own talents. This is what ‘set him off’. More specifically, Taka is what started this. 

“I’ll go talk to him” 

“He’s not really in a talkin’ mood” Leon rolled his eyes.

“Yeah more of a hulk smash mood” Hiro added putting a hand to his chin “Though it has got quieter up there” 

“You sure Taka?” 

“I am Makoko, he needs someone to stop him from spiralling further!” ‘He mustn’t sink further into a hole or worse believe he belongs there’ Taka thought to himself.

Nodding, he confirmed his conviction to go attempt to talk his friend out of the chasm he found himself in. Mondo would do the same for Taka after all, he was sure of it. 

“T-this reminds me of Season 3 Episode 19 where Princess Piggles s-subdued the beast destroying the castle! S-stay strong brave Knight I-Ishimaru!” Hifumi exclaimed. Taka assumed this was his way of saying good luck.

“Yeah, what Fumi said!” The eldest clapped him on the back. 

As he made his way up the stairs, he remembered how a month or two ago he followed his friend up these stairs during the Halloween party, in that moment Mondo was offering refuge, support, kindness. He needed to do the same right now, his friend needed him. 

Stopping as he reached the door he paused. Something in him made him put a hand gently on the door and he gingerly let his forehead rest there for a minute as he prepared himself. A melancholic feeling wrapped around him as he thought of their friendship and how he blindly caused the other to get to this state. Still, he had to show Mondo he wasn’t alone in these battles, neither of them were anymore.

Pulling back and correcting his posture, he knocked on the door.

**-Knock Knock Knock-**

…

After a minute of nothing he tried again.

**-Knock Knock Knock-**

…

Again, nothing came. However, he was nothing if not persistent. 

**-Knock Knock Knock-**

“FUCKIN’ HELL! Get lost!” He finally got a reply. 

“I cannot do that bro! I’m here to support you!” Kiyotaka shouted back. He would not give up, not on Mondo.

Silence returned and he assumed Mondo may have replied thinking he was one of his housemates, would knowing it was himself help or hinder his efforts? 

As time stretched on with no further progress, he returned to his pervious tactic.

**-Knock Knock Knock-**

“I will continue this as long as I ne-“

The door finally opened, though he wasn’t welcomed in. Mondo immediately went to sit on his bed, he had his elbows rested on his thighs and held his head in his hands as he faced the floor. Seeing him like this was highly upsetting to Kiyotaka, he had to fight the urge to sit by his friend and hold him, he had his suspicions that doing that wouldn’t end well.

What should he say now? What could he say now? There were so many things that went through his mind: ‘I’m sorry I didn’t realise my praise upset you’, ‘You’re hurt, let me help you’, ‘Seeing you like this worries me’, ‘Your housemates are concerned about you’, ‘Please look at me…’. 

He settled on saying…

“Thank you Mondo” As he stood a meter away from the door. Entering any further would be unwelcomed.

“Just say what you wanna and get the fuck out” Mondo didn’t look at him.

The room was dark, the blinds of the skylight were drawn and the only light coming in was from the hallway. To see the room this bleak made him frown, this room was one of his favourite places in the town, every time he’d been here he’d been invited into moments of merriment or comfort with the man who looked so disheartened right now. This place was safe, he didn’t have to worry his actions would be incorrect or ruin anything, he could just enjoy life without fear of not being enough or not being perfect.

Though, taking in the room now and it’s change in atmosphere he started to wonder if it wasn’t the environment that made him feel safe. 

Mondo was his solace, it didn’t matter when he made mistakes or didn’t read the room well enough because Mondo would correct him without penalties. And yet here he was making himself suffer so much for reasons Taka was only just starting to understand. 

“You don’t deserve to treat yourself this way” Kiyotaka said clearly and slowly. Determination present in his eyes.

This stirred something in the other. Mondo brought his head up and moved his hands to the edge of the bed, Taka could see his knuckles whiten from the grip he was giving the mattress. 

“You think you know me that fuckin’ well?! What, am I a calculation you figured out?” Mondo spat out, there was venom in those words. He was trying to get a reaction but Kiyotaka wouldn’t give it him, these waves would not knock him down.

The taller man now stood up and began to walk over to him.

“I’ve been to Jail” ‘That doesn’t define you’ “I’ve broken people’s bones” ‘You’re using the past tense’ “I ALMOST KILLED MY OWN BROTHER” ‘!’

“I-…” Taka faltered. Mondo was now right in front of him and using his height to loom over him.

“What you gonna say?” He sneered “’I don’t believe it’, ‘you’d never do that’, ‘it wasn’t your fault’? Pick one, I’ve heard them all before, y’know what? IT WAS MY FUCKIN’ FAULT”

“You still don’t deserve to punish yourself like this!” Taka battled back. His own hands were held in tight fists at his side. 

“SAYS THE GUY WHO SAYS ‘PUNISH ME’ AT THE SLIGHTEST MISTAKE!” Mondo bellowed “Is almost killin’ my own brother not as bad as spilling your coffee on a carpet?!”

“T-that’s no-“ He stuttered. His mind wasn’t quick enough to process this information and the visual of Mondo right now was too intense. 

“Just get the fuck out! I DON’T WANT YOU HERE! I DON’T WANT TO SEE ANYONE!” Mondo continued applying pressure.

Kiyotaka looked away to the floor so he could think rather than become absorbed in the hostility. They wouldn’t get anywhere like this, Mondo was looking to intimidate and keep everyone as far away as possible. How could they communicate right now? There needed to be another path he could take? Was ther-…

An idea popped into his head. It wasn’t the best idea and had a lot of room for error but it was something. He looked back at Mondo with a gaze he hoped held the same intensity as the others.

“Give me one last chance” Seeing the other about to shout again he quickly followed up “If you do I will promise to never try again”

“Fine”

He wasn’t sure what had made the other agree but he wasn’t about to take this for granted. Time to try a new strategy.

He moved away, bowed and made his way outside the room and down the stairs. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What?

Mondo heard some shuffling downstairs and then the front door open and close. 

Did he fuckin’ say he wanted another chance just to fuck with him? Just to get his hopes up that someone would be able to pull him out of this spiral? 

He brought his hands to his face and pushed against his skin, dragging them down he them let them hang loosely at his sides. Who was he kiddin’? Of course Kiyotaka wasn’t going to stay and keep beating a dead horse like him. 

One of the closest bonds, no, relationships he had in years was just ripped apart by his own fuckin’ hands and there was no reason why he should try to fix it. He didn’t deserve Kiyotaka, he didn’t deserve anyone. 

All the shit he said repeated in his head, he attacked his friend’s weak spots just trying to bring him into the despair he felt. He was such a fuc—

**-Bzzt Bzzt, Bzzt Bzzt, Bzzt Bzzt, Bzzt Bzzt-**

Looking over at his bedside table he saw his phone vibrating with a familiar face on the screen, face mask or not he could recognise those red eyes a mile off. 

Walking over he picked it up and watched as it continued to ring. If this was anything like the door he could imagine it would continue to ring out until Mondo picked up. 

He accepted the call.

_“Kyodai, do not hang up, let me explain”_

He didn’t hang up, he just hummed confirmation he had heard him.

_“Okay! During the time in your room I was overwhelmed, I couldn’t articulate my thoughts clearly because of the stimulus”_

Was this his way of saying Mondo freaked him out? His lips twitched slightly.

_“I also thought this would be easier on yourself, without my presence in the room you won’t have to feel cornered or trapped, the phone provides a degree of separation between the two participants, you can be as vulnerable as you need to be and I won’t be the wiser”_

Shit, as if the guy had thought that far ahead. Mondo considered the words while he moved to close, not lock, his bedroom door. He could talk like this he guessed.

_“I will continue onto the main topic of this call! I mentioned I didn’t think you deserved to treat yourself the way you are, and I still believe this despite the revelations you shared, though I would like to talk to you about each of them on separate occasions once you are ready and comfortable of course”_

His phone felt heavy in his hands as he continued to listen. Kiyotaka wasn’t giving up.

_“You’ve told me reason after reason on why you should be left alone to chastise and belittle yourself however I believe you're blind to seeing why you shouldn’t! Because since we became brothers I have only see the ways in which you build and protect the people around you including myself and Chihiro!”_

He couldn’t tell if the shouting was hurting his head or the words being spoken but it made Mondo sit back down on the bed.

_“If you’re going to be so gung-ho on taking this out on yourself, explain to me why! Make me understand!”_

“I-… I don’t derserv-“

_“That’s not my question! Why DO you deserve this?!”_

“BECAUSE I’M WEAK!”

There is was, a simple sentence but one of the heaviest that persistently entered his mind. It might sound stupid or somethin’ a kid would say but this thought was enough to tear down everything Mondo Owada was.

“I’m weak… I know ya said you wanted to talk to me ‘bout those things I said once I’m ready but I need to talk to you about one of them now ‘cos it’ll make you understand”

_“Go on Mondo”_

The fact the other was still calling him by his first name was not lost on Mondo. It was subtle but it showed he still held him high in his estimations. He couldn’t help but bitterly think that would change after he hears his story.

“Y’know my gang right? Think I told ya ‘bout it and you chewed my ear off ‘cos most of us don’t wear helmets” He briefly smiled hearing Ishimaru mutter something about safety on the other end but his face quickly turned solemn again as he continued “The reason why I even joined the gang was 'cause of my big bro. He was Number 1 and I was Number 2. When he wanted to move on and retire it was my job as his right-hand man to take his place, but I could never be him. He was an incredible leader and everyone loved him, me? I ain’t like that… I’m all rage and rash decisions, you saw Leon’s face right? I held you against a fuckin’ wall for god’s sake and you didn’t do anythin’!”

Shit! He stopped for minute so he could breathe. Looking down at the floor he saw there were a few damp marks on the carpet, when’d he start cryin’? 

“On the night of his retirement ceremony, I challenged him to a race” He closed his eyes, his heart rate picked up “During it, I was so desperate to win that I started doin’ all this reckless shit, then I went into oncoming traffic and, fuck Taka! There was truck!” Fuck “It was coming so fast” He could see it in his memory “The lights were too bright!” Fuck, fuck, fuck “Daiya-! He pushed me out the way and got hit!” Fuck, his breathing was quickening, shit! 

_“Mondo”_ Kiyotaka’s voice came out clear and cut through his thoughts _“Concentrate on what I say next, breathe a deep breath in”_ He followed the instruction and could hear the other doing the same _“Notice how it fills your chest, how it rises and what it feels like, hold it there for a couple seconds”_ His chest rose and he could feel the breath go down his windpipe filling his torso _“Now breathe out slowly, notice how your chest falls, please repeat this 10 times and let me know how you feel, I will still be here and will listen to you”_

Following the instructions given he proceeded to take long breathes in, choking on one or two as his anxiety fought for control. Once he got to the 7th breath his body started coming back under his control. By the 10th he could talk again.

“Thanks” He muttered, it sounded flippant but it was heartfelt.

_“You don’t have to tell me anymore if you don’t want to”_

“What if I want to?”

_“I-.. Please go ahead Mondo, let me know if it becomes too much”_

“I held him as he bled out, there was so much blood, I was sure he was dead” Images from the night flashed in his head but he commanded himself to remain calm “The paramedics said he broke several bones and had internal bleedin’, he was in the hospital for months. When he could be discharged, he was bed bound for a long time, I tried to look after him but he would tell me to go run the gang” He remembered insisting he wanted to look after Daiya but the elder Owada wouldn’t agree, telling him he needed to be a leader now more than ever and keep everyone going “The gang was tore up and I let the guilt eat me up”

If it wasn’t for the sniffling on the other end of the phone he would of said Ishimaru put the phone down but he was really hearing him out.

“I didn’t know it but Daiya applied to this uni under my name, and then before long I came here” He had made it through the story, he felt so raw in this moment, everything that he is or was on the table for Taka to examine as he pleased. Surely he would get what Mondo meant now?

 _“Thank you for telling me this Mondo… I would like to talk to you in person for the next bit—”_ He could hear the other man panic _“If that’s alright of course! I can also do it over phone I just--!”_ As the sputtering continued and a small light of warmth lit up inside of Mondo’s chest _“I just want to be near you, see you”_

Fuck. On this list of things Mondo didn’t deserve he was sure Kiyotaka Ishimaru would be at the top.

“Sure” As soon as he said it he heard a knock from downstairs, assuming one of the other guys let him in he heard rushed steps make their way up the stairs. Reacting on impulse Mondo got off the bed and moved to open his bedroom door were he came face to face with Taka again.

He looked like he’d been cryin’ and his skin was flushed pink from the cold weather, did he stand outside in the cold without a coat or gloves on!? His expression was one of relief and desperation, he was still holding his phone to his ear and Mondo realised he was doing the same. 

Without a word, Kiyotaka dropped his phone and wrapped Mondo in a hug which he returned immediately, he was freezing! He’d definitely been out in the cold. 

After a minute or two they separated, Kiyotaka looked like he was about to say something but Mondo nodded towards his discarded phone forgotten on the stairs which prompted the smaller man to quickly retrieve the device before walking back into the room with the biker.

They stood in the middle of his room looking at each other, he had noted that the other had been crying and he was sure the other noticed he had been too. It was an oddly intimate moment, more so than when they had stood in front of each other naked.

“Mondo” The other began “You told me that story as a reason why you deserve to disregard your worth and health so blatantly, but after hearing it…” Those red eyes he’d often find comfort in where locked with his own “I can only think of how strong you had to be, yes your actions lead to something extremely unpleasant happening but you stayed” A hand now landed on his shoulder “You stayed Mondo, you looked after your brother, you picked up where he left off with the gang, you didn’t run away. That’s a sign of strength and the mark of a good leader” 

“Yeah but—” 

“There’s no but about it” Eyebrows furrowed further “Mondo Owada, you had something awful happen to you and you stuck it out, you learnt from your actions and paid for them" He wanted to argue back, to say it didn’t happen to him it happened to Daiya but something about the way Kiyotaka was looking at him and the way he gently held his shoulder made the argument on his lips die. If Kiyotaka believed what he said to this degree maybe there was some truth to it…

“What do they say about diamonds? They’re crafted under high pressure?” Ishimaru now smiled at him, though it was weak “I think that fits your story, you may not be the leader you want to be yet but you’re most certainly on your way”

His response was to bring his friend in for another hug which the other mimicked. They stood there just holding each other, Mondo’s arms holding onto Kiyotaka in desperate embrace like he might disappear any second now, and Kiyotaka allowing himself to be held so tightly while he stroked up and down Mondo’s back in soothing manner.

“I should probably apologise to Kuwata shouldn’t I?”

“Most definitely”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Daiya Owada had 3 options: 

1\. Continue to watch his baby brother cling to a guy like a man clinging to a buoy after a shipwreck.  
2\. Interrupt the scene which would definitely get him a tantrum from Mondo and probably wouldn’t be the best way to meet this new person.  
3\. Go back downstairs, pretend he didn’t drop by and leave them be.

Being a wise and benevolent individual, he chose Option 3. ‘Sides, he could pocket this info for when he needed it, ‘cause it was his bro’s fault for not closing his damn bedroom door when he had company over. Daiya taught him better than that.

Retreating back down the stairs as quietly as he could so he didn’t alert the pair he smirked to himself.

He had a pretty good idea who it was embracing his brother. When he was parking up before he’d seen the guy outside on the phone, he had been leaning against the wall of the house just looking at Mondo’s bike. Which Daiya thought was bit creepy, but then again, he wasn’t much better watching the guy from the other side of the street. When the kid started cryin’ he wondered if he should check on him but it seemed he had it under control, not long after he knocked on the door and re-entered the house.

A few minutes later Daiya himself decided to make his way over and to be honest he didn’t expect to see his brother calmed down so effectively by someone else. 

“Yo you leaving already?” Ah busted.

“Hey Hiro, good to see ya man” He greeted the eldest of the house with a handshake that became a side hug “Yeah, seems Plan B worked pretty well”

“No kidding!” Hiro looked up the stairs thoughtfully before turning back to Daiya “You not going to hang around until they come down?”

“Not the right time” He shrugged and the other nodded knowingly. This guy was his favourite in the house, bar Mondo of course though sometimes he was on thin ice there. He was a smart dude, hell if Daiya knew why he had to resit his first year so often… There must be method to his madness.

“Want me to tell Mon you stopped by?”

“Nah, he’ll just get his panties in a twist I didn’t say hi, plus he’ll be home for Christmas soon” Seeing the other guy got the idea he moved to front door a wave.

It’ll be nice to meet Kiyotaka Ishimaru officially one day, seems like a nice guy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternative Title: Leon gets a black eye
> 
> Also don't we all have a great time when we see Daiya alive? Just a wonderful feeling.  
> (Gives me mad Matt from Death Note vibes, as a fandom we had them for 1 scene was like 'uh uh, you can't take them away from us')


	9. Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the Christmas chapter and Taka's turn to open up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am buzzed to see all the valentines stuff tomorrow!

“Well, would ya look what the cat dragged in?” 

“Yeah, yeah” Mondo shrugged but couldn’t shake the smile from his lips “Ya don’t look so hot either” 

“Aww where’s the love baby bro? University changed you” Daiya teased from the armchair he was perched in; he flashed his signature grin and Mondo knew he was home. 

Dropping off his stuff in the hallway he began peeling off his jacket, ‘course it fuckin’ rained when he was on the road, he did his best not to drag in too much water by hangin’ it on a radiator and kicking off his shoes. He ran a hand through his now dismantled pompadour which just created further knots wrapping around his fingers, he could feel his irritation building as he tried to fix himself up but decided it was useless without the aid of a shower.

“Hey, ‘m gonna take a shower, will catch up later yeah?” 

He didn’t need to wait for an answer, to be fair it wasn’t a question more a warning that the bathroom would be occupied for the next half an hour. They’d be chattin’ all night once he came back.

As he made his way up the stairs he grumbled at the faint footprints he was leaving behind him, he’d be the one who’d have to clean them up after all. He was lucky in a way that their house wasn’t that big, it was a one-story build with the living room, kitchen and hallway downstairs and then a bathroom and two bedrooms in the upstairs, you could clean it up in a couple hours tops. His record was 1 hour 43 minutes… Even if Daiya said it still looked like shit still afterwards, he could do it if he was gonna get all pissy. 

Getting into the bathroom he removed the rest of his clothes, grimacing as the damp cloth clung to his skin. Throwing all that shit into the bath he hopped into the separate shower and whacked on his usual heat, a couple notches up from Daiya’s. He was hot blooded, what of it?

“Mmm” Standing under the stream of water he let his muscle relax, being on the road for 2 to 3 hours was great in the moment. Wind in your hair, weaving in and out of traffic, listening to the engine roar as it mixed with the sounds of the city. But it sucked when you had to get off the bike, muscles seized in places they shouldn’t, bones clicked uncomfortably and yeah, when it rained it really FUCKIN’ sucked.

However, the destination was worth it all. He loved being at home and not just because it meant he could have a shower without 3 dudes tryin’ to get in the bathroom for a piss. Nah, he loved being at home because he could chill out and be himself here, he wasn’t a leader nor was he a protector, here he was a little brother who could dick around and recharge. 

**-Bzzt Bzzt-**

“Hmm?” He looked over at his abandoned pants wallowing in the bath, probably should’ve taken his phone out of his pocket shouldn’t he? 

A sigh left his lips as he did a quick job of washing his hair and giving himself a once over with a bar of soap. Mondo turned off the shower, stepped out grabbing a towel from their usual spot next to the bath and after a brief pat down he tied the towel around his waist. Picking up his discarded clothes he brought them with him into his room where he had a wash basket that he could dump them in. 

He opened the door and paused. Every time. Every time he came home Daiya did this and it was another reason Mondo loved coming home. His room was tidied, and his bed looked so fuckin’ inviting, man he could go for a nap right now—But no no, he needed to swap news with his brother. Later baby. 

His room was pretty simple, his bed was next to the wall with the end of the bed facing the window. There was a wardrobe, a set of drawers and bedside table all in grey, they all complimented the dark wood floor and lighter grey walls. A few personal touches were scattered around, there was memorabilia of his gang, a desk which housed hair and makeup products (well eyeliner and mascara), a few photos which had been framed and hung up on his walls and finally a stuffed dog plush which was probably the most valuable thing here in his opinion. 

Dropping off the waterlogged items he bent down and fished out his phone before flopping onto his bed. Okay he said later, and he meant it… But that didn’t mean he couldn’t lay on it right? Even if he was making it slightly damp. 

He flipped through his lock screen and smiled at the notification.

_Ishi sent an audio message._

Of course he did. Ever since Chi showed him how to do that he’d send Mondo a daily message with his thoughts or random questions, it was cut--… Okay time to end that trail of thought. He pressed play and let the phone drop onto the bed.

_“Mondo! Hello! I hope my audio file finds you well!” What a dork. Why’d he always make it sound like an email? “I want to let you know I have arrived home safely, my father picked me up an hour after you left, thank you for waiting with me!”_

Oh yeah, Mondo had spent his last couple of hours with him before he had to leave, to be honest it was entertaining to watch the guy flap around the girl’s house tidying up the forgotten mess they had left behind. Which wasn’t mess by the way, now picking up after Leon and Hiro, that was REAL mess. 

_“I hope your journey was also without incident! Please let me know your progress once you have the chance”_ Back to email mode then? _“I also….Umm…”_ Huh? _“I have greatly appreciated your company over the last few months! You are my bro and spending time with you is the highlight of my day besides my educational endeavours of course!”_ Did he just compare Mondo to his reading assignments? _“As much as I will enjoy being at home… I will also be looking forward to the day we reunite in the new year…”_ Mondo furrowed his brows as he worked out what the other was saying _“Let us both end this year on a high note and begin the next together on a better one! Give your brother my best! Signing out Kiyotaka Ishimaru!”_

Mondo had picked up his phone and hit record before he had realized it.

“Err… Hey!” Fuck! Normally he just texted back “Umm…” Oh come on “Glad you made it home safe bro! You don’t need ta thank me for hanging out with ya, y’know that right?” He did right? “I got home just a bit ago, freakin’ rained all the way here didn’t it?” So what he censored himself for Taka “Anyway, ‘m fine, just had a shower, my brother’s doing alright too by the looks of it. Let your dad know I said hi” Would Taka’s dad appreciate that? What did he do again? Did Taka tell him? “Umm… And ‘bout what you said, I feel the same too, you’re my favourite thing to do-“ WAIT “ERR! LIKE! I REALLY LIKE HANGING OUT WITH YOU TOO MAN!” Well fuck “Yeah! So…” Well, there was no actin’ cool now was there… “I’ll miss ya too, keep sendin’ me these messages ‘kay?” ‘I like hearin’ ya voice’ “And I’ll ring ya on Christmas day like I said I would, man’s promise… Mondo Owada over and out”

Fuck… 

If this was a different house Mondo would spend an hour or two mulling over what he just said to his ‘best friend’ and what it could mean. But this house had two Owada’s in it.

“Bro! The footprints! Really?!”

“’s fine I’ll sort it in a minute!”

“THE HELL YOU WILL!”

“GET OFF MY DICK I’VE BEEN HOME FOR LESS THAN AN HOUR!”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Mon sent an audio message._

Oh! Well, this was unusual! 

Kiyotaka had just finished washing the dishes, himself and his father had spent a lovely evening together catching up on their respective work, the latest local news and Kiyotaka’s current academic status. His father seemed particularly impressed by his role of Communications Officer! However, after conversing for a few hours the elder Ishimaru had retired to his bedroom for the evening, leaving him to busy himself until an appropriate bedtime. 

Moving into their living room, he took a seat on the sofa, both the kitchen and the living room were attached in their 2-bedroom apartment, so it only took him a few steps to get to his new spot. The flat overall was rather small but it didn’t bother either man that much, one was normally out while the other was in. When they did both happen to be in they would miss each other due to their conflicting sleep schedules, well his father’s conflicting sleep schedule due to his job. Kiyotaka didn’t mind of course! His father did an important job as a police officer and who was he to selfishly demand more time from his father. 

Trying not to dwell on the thought any further he returned his focus back to his phone. Mondo typically replied via text rather than sending a voice message back. Taka had assumed that he was not aware how to do it since it was entirely more convenient than texting. Clicking the button, he watched the audio file marker move as he listened to the message.

 _“Err… Hey! Umm… Glad you made it home safe bro! You don’t need ta thank me for hanging out with ya, y’know that right?”_ He did assume but Kiyotaka didn’t like assuming things, he wouldn’t walk into an exam only assuming he knew the answers and his friend was much more important than an exam _“I got home just a bit ago”_ Phew! That was reassuring to hear, he always did get nervous when Mondo would drive his motorcycle. He had no concerns over the other man’s skill, but they were dangerous! If a car hit him he wouldn’t fair well… Enough of that thought! _“Freakin’ rained all the way here didn’t it? Anyway, ‘m fine, just had a shower, my brother’s doing alright too by the looks of it”_ Hmm? He briefly wondered what the other Owada looked like _“Let your dad know I said hi…”_ How nice of him! He would definitely pass this message on to his father, he had high hopes that the two would get on when they met, both men where fantastic examples of where effort can get you _“Umm… And ‘bout what you said, I feel the same too, you’re my favourite thing to do-… ERR! LIKE! I REALLY LIKE HANGING OUT WITH YOU TOO MAN!...”_ He pulled away from the device thinking it would lessen the volume, he hoped it didn’t disturb his father, Mondo must learn to control his volume if he was going to start sending audio messages. Not that he could talk… _“Yeah! So… I’ll miss ya too”_ A smile worked it’s way onto his face _“Keep sending me these messages ‘kay?”_ ‘Most definitely’ _“And I’ll ring ya on Christmas day like I said I would, man’s promise… Mondo Owada over and out”_

‘I’ll look forward to it’ he wistfully thought. 

Thinking back to how they met and the progress they made to where they were now in their relationship brought tears to his eyes. Taka valued the biker in the highest regard, of course it had taken time getting there but he meant what he said in his message, his time with Mondo was one of his most enjoyable parts of university. It wouldn’t verge on eclipsing his academic pursuits, but he would have to guiltily admit he did find his mind drifting onto thoughts of the other man when lectures were particularly unengaging. 

And the thoughts he would think about his friend… Well, they put a veil of ambiguity on the term ‘friend’. 

He often found himself looking forward to the touches from the other man, creating opportunities for them, melting into them when they did occur and when possible reciprocate them. It confused him. He found himself trying to analyse the ‘why’ behind his actions and it all came down to one question which made him a bit uneasy.

Did he want to be more than friends with Mondo?

On the topic of relationships passing beyond being friends, Taka was quite inexperienced. He had kissed people, even had sex with another person but those instances were more motivated by intrigued to understand himself than any actual ‘want’ to progress into a loving relationship with the other party. 

On very rare occasions he would let himself fantasise about that possibility with Mondo. Not the innocent touches of a friend but more deliberate actions. Holding hands and lacing their fingers together, would his hands feel warm? Were they rough or were they smooth? What did the lines on his palm look like? And once he let himself imagine those scenarios it opened the gateway to more suggestive thoughts, he would try to dismiss these straight away by refocusing on whatever task he was meant to be doing but some would slip through, and when they did he indulged himself.

What would his hair feel like when he ran his fingers through it? If his hands were rough how would they feel running over more sensitive parts of his body? Would he kiss with ferocity or with apprehension? What did he sound like when he lost himself in the moment?

Kiyotaka could feel a warmth spread across his cheeks, his usual sign he should stop thinking about such things. The main synopsis of this was: he was confused. Did he want these things because he wanted that specific man or because he was confusing his first friendship with a loving relationship? Or was he so touch starved until this point in his life that his mind was accelerating his feelings? Educational experimentation couldn’t teach you that, much to his dismay.

Picking himself up he began to retreat to his room with his mind plaguing him with further questions. 

One thing he could answer was that he would never use Mondo for his own selfish desires. He wouldn’t corrupt the other’s kindness or take advantage of him in any way! So, these questions would remain just that, questions with no answers.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The days always seemed to roll too quick from getting home to Christmas day and this year was no exception. There was no way he’d been home for a week and yet here they were on Christmas day. Mondo called fuckin’ bullshit.

It was around noon and he was currently lazing ‘bout on the couch drinking an irish coffee because it was the holidays, and he didn’t need to explain himself. Him and Daiya had been up for a good chuck of the morning, they normally did a run on their bikes on Christmas day visiting the members of their gang who spent Christmas alone.

Well, the ones who were arsed about it, fuck knows he wasn’t about to force a Christmas ambush on someone who didn’t want it, honestly Daiya was the one who insisted on doing it every year. Though to be fair everyone did look thrilled when they saw him at their front doors. Like he was Santa or somethin’. Anyway, after visitin’ a bunch of guys they’d came home to open whatever presents they got before they had to prepare for the Christmas gang meet, that was their version of a family Christmas meal he supposed. 

What Mondo had received so far was: Some new parts he could mod his bike with from Daiya (he always got the sickest shit), a mixtape from Leon… Nice of him despite Mondo not having a way to play it, some sort of dream catcher from Hiro which was actually pretty cool, a planner for the next year from Makoto which in the nicest way possible excited him as much as a calculator would, and a figurine of some anime chick from Hifumi… Yeah, he had no idea what to do with that. The gang members they had visited had also given him odd bits but their main gift as a group was the meal later, everyone brought a dish with ‘em. 

There was just one gift he hadn’t opened yet. His most anticipated gift if he was honest, the neatly wrapped box in parchment paper with a bright red ribbon from Kiyotaka. Look, he appreciated all the other gifts ‘nd shit but… Well… He didn’t know how to finish that thought. This was just more special for some reason. 

Once Daiya had excused himself to sort some other stuff out he moved to bring the present into his lap. He didn’t want to share this moment. Looking over the box he thought about what it could be, it was rectangular and reminded him of a really thick book. If he was younger he would shake the box to figure out what was inside but what if he had got him something fragile? 

Staring at the box for only a moment longer, he began opening it by pulling the ribbon undone. The wrapping was pretty damn nice, Mondo’s attempts were always laughable, maybe he could get Taka to do all his wrapping in the future…

Pulling apart the paper in a true childish glee, he then moved to take the top of the box off. Looking inside he found a small item wrapped in tissue paper as well as… Notes? Handwritten notes? He got him homework?

He focused on the smaller item first and took the tissue paper off to reveal a small wooden tiger. Mondo immediately recognised this as one of the statues from the market stall he blew up in, a pang of guilt hit him but the sentiment wasn’t lost on him either. Admiring the craftsmanship, he then picked up the papers, the first page seemed to be a note from Taka so he grabbed his drink and began reading.

_Merry Christmas Mondo!_

_My gift to you is a project!_

He choked on a laugh as he drank his drink.

_I’m sure you’ve found the small figurine? I hope you like it, I know that day was hard on you and I won’t delve into it again, you know you can call me if you need to on the matter. What I will do is tell you my idea behind your gift!_

_I want you to make this Mondo!_

What?

_My challenge to you is to create your own version of this figurine, the rest of these papers are instructions and tips from the vendors who created that very tiger! I don’t wish to upset you so if this is too much you can do what you wish to this present. I’ve seen movies where characters will set symbolic items on fire for closure so if nothing else you could do that, just make sure to carry out the correct safely procedures for the task._

Trying not to get thrown off by the idea of pyromania that Taka had casually put into his Christmas present, he flipped through the other pages and there were indeed instructions… In different handwritings? How many people did he ask?

_If you do take up the assignment, please keep me updated on your progress! I would love to see how you work and what you come up with._

_Best regards and fondest of wishes,_

_Kiyotaka Ishimaru_

He felt over the indentation of the signature, something that felt oddly personal, before he put the papers and tiger on the coffee table in front of him. 

That day was still raw in his memory and brought up some uneasiness in his stomach but it also held a pivotal moment in their friendship, it showed him how Kiyotaka wouldn’t give up on him even if he himself did. The tenderness that thought brought to his chest greatly outweighed any negativity in his gut. 

“Cool tiger” 

Daiya’s voice broke his focus as he picked up the figurine and looked it over. Err, that was his stuff? He should FUCKING ask if he could pick it up but Mondo was still too lost in his previous thoughts to start mouthing off so he let it go. 

Once his brother was satisfied with his investigation, he noticed the papers on the table and quirked a brow.

“Homework?”

“Kinda, Taka wants me to make one of ‘em” He nodded at the figurine still in his brother’s hands.

“Nice! You could make one for everyone in the gang!” His bro beamed putting down the gift.

“Fuck off! Y’know how long that’d take?!” Mondo shot back.

“Do you?” 

His brain tried to work out a reply but to be honest he didn’t, he’d probably have to read the notes or make a first attempt before he could actually answer that question.

“We have the largest gang in the country! It’d take fuckin’ ages!”

“Better get started then don’tcha think?” Daiya ‘smiled’ at him but Mondo knew that wasn’t a smile. It was a way of sayin’ ‘I’m ya elder so I know fuckin’ best’ and he normally did but that’s besides the point “Anyway, get yer jacket kid, we need to head out” 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was 9:54pm on Christmas day. 

They said they would ring each other at 10pm, Taka had enough time to make a cup of green tea so he did. In fact, he was happy for the small distraction, he had been looking forward to this call since his father had left earlier in the day due to work. He didn’t mind spending Christmas alone, he usually did this but knowing his friend wanted to take time out of his busy schedule to catch up made him ecstatic. He couldn’t wait to hear Mondo’s voice.

9:58pm. 

Returning to the living room he positioned himself on the couch and muted the TV which was playing some sort of Christmas film, he usually kept it on in the background on days like this so the home wasn’t so empty. He took a sip of his tea before putting it on the table next to him.

10:00pm

!

Oh wait! Should he text first? What if Mondo was busy? Would it be rude if he pulled him away from his duties? Maybe he should wait for a few more—

**-Bzzt Bzzt, Bzzt Bzzt, Bzzt Bzzt, Bzzt Bzzt-**

A toothy grin spread across his face as he accepted the call. 

“Mondo!” 

_“Taka!”_ He could tell from the tone that the other was amused, most likely from his exclamation. 

“Merry Christmas! I hope your day has gone well!” 

_“Well as it can go, been on m’feet since dawn doin’ stuff with my bro and then the gang”_ Taka couldn’t help but feel a swill of pride, Mondo was very good to his followers _“Been lookin’ forward to this call, I can finally relax a bit now!”_

“I’ve been looking forward to talking to you all day!” Taka gleamed. 

_“Really?”_

“Of course! I was looking at the clock for the last few minutes!” Oh! Was that weird to mention? 

A chuckle came through the speaker which stopped him nervously nibbling his lips 

_“Me too actually”_

“Really?” It was his turn to ask. 

_“Err, yeah… Been thinkin’ ‘bout ya--... Since I opened ya gift that is!”_

“Hmm?” Taka was more hooked on the first thing he mentioned. 

_“I’m gonna take you up on yer challenge!”_

“Oh!” That brought him back out of his fantasy “Wonderful! I’m glad it didn’t upset you!” 

_“Nah, it’s the kick up the ass I need”_

“Mondo" 

_“Ah Sh--… Err, sorry”_

As the conversation flowed, they both discussed how their days had went though the biker clung onto a specific piece of information. 

_“What’d ya mean you’re alone?”_

“Well, my father had to return to work, but don’t worry! We got to spend the morning together!” 

_“But yer alone now? Till when? You shoulda told me! I would’ve come an brought you here for the night!”_

“Don’t be silly Mondo, I’m more than capable of being by myself, it isn’t the first time I’ve spent the majority of Christmas day alone” 

_“Well it’s yer fuckin’ last and don’t scold me there, that sentence deserves a swear word!”_ Kiyotaka tried his best not to smile at that _“Next year I’m bringing ya here even if I gotta kidnap ya”_

“Is it really wise to premeditate a kidnapping to the victim a year before the crime occurs?” He teased 

_“Aye you’re talkin to the leader of the biggest biker gang in the country”_

He laughed down the phone at the oddness of the conversation which earnt him further curses and playful statements from the other man. After some more back-and-forth Mondo circled the conversation back. 

_“You really don’t mind being alone?”_

Did he? Honestly yes, he did very much mind being alone. He could persevere through it and disguise the disappointment he felt, it was the same tactic he would use when he’d come home with bruises from bullying. But did he need to disguise himself from Mondo? Did he need to hide anything from Mondo? 

“I… I do mind being alone…” As he voiced that truth for the first time out loud, he felt himself want to carry on confessing things he didn’t talk to others about, he felt Mondo would be the right person to do this to “Can I talk to you about something personal? It’s a long story…” 

_“’Course you can Kiyotaka, you could read a phone book and I’d listen to ya”_

A solemn smile graced his lips before he began his story. 

“I’m surprised when we first met you didn’t realise who I was or maybe the better way to put it is, who my family was” He sucked in a breath “There’s a reason why my father can’t be here for me most of the time, why my parents didn’t stay together, why I come across the way I do and put so much pressure on myself to succeed” 

He could hear some hums in confirmation he was being listened too. 

“Toranosuke Ishimaru, my grandfather and former prime minister of this country” He listened for any recognition on the other end but it seemed there was none “He received high praise due to his intelligence and it required little to no effort from him to achieve such an important position because he was a genius” 

He could feel tears build up in his eyes, the emotions felt even more powerful when he was saying this out loud. 

“During my childhood I believed he was the greatest man I had ever met, I wanted to be everything he was and more, he inspired me to no end” There was a brief moment when he was a child were Toranosuke seemed like this superhuman idol, but once he got to his goal it all changed “When he was appointed Prime Minister my family and the nation were overjoyed, we were hopeful, we were proud of him” 

The tears began to escape and roll down his cheeks. 

“But he became arrogant, calling my father a fool, insisting he knew best and cut us out” His free hand balled into a fist and the one gripping the phone squeezed tight “He became corrupt, he cost the country everything with scandal after scandal that came to light!... Eventually he was removed from office and his business collapsed leaving our family’s name in tatters and saddled by debts…” 

Kiyotaka remembered the news breaking, he was still young and didn’t understand it properly but what he did understand was the faces of his parents, the tears they shed, the way they were taken from his life to instead keep a roof above their heads. The stress and work became too much and soon their family was torn apart. 

“After that he lived out the rest of his life in silence, I only saw him once during the aftermath and I could tell by the look on his face he still believed he was right… He took everything from us! Burnt it to the ground! Destroyed our relationships! Hurt the country! And refused to acknowledge his own failure!” The picture of his grandfather’s face was burnt into his mind and every time it entered his consciousness he would feel a white flame of anger ignite his soul “He took no ownership of his wrongdoings because he never had to before, his family lay in ruins and he did nothing!” 

By now his tears had become steady streams down his face as he fell into memory after memory of his grandfather. 

“That’s why I swear to never be like him Mondo… I will never lie to the public. I will never put my selfish desires above what is right. I will never be a genius like him.” He said those statements for himself more than for his friend, he constantly reminded himself of these words to ensure he lived by them “I must correct his mistakes and bring honour back to my family’s name!" 

Using his sleeve to clean some of the mess off his face he waited to hear Mondo’s thoughts, he wasn’t sure what he would say hearing that story. Maybe pity or even disgust learning that Taka’s family was the reason why so many hardships had hit the country, that was the way he thought about himself all these years after all. 

_“Ishi…”_ Mondo’s voice was uncharacteristically quiet _“Yer already better than him, way better than him”_ Taka continued trying to sort himself out as he listened to his friend, how had he even doubted him? _“Just ‘cause some bastard in your family did a buncha fucked up shit doesn’t mean you should have to burn yourself out trying to fix it all! You are a man of honour, anyone who can’t see that is fuckin’ blind!”_ He could hear the man on the other end of the phone begin to get riled up, Mondo got like this when he was certain about what he was saying and that thought alone started to calm the waves Taka found himself in _“Kiyotaka Ishi-fucking-maru, you’re the most moral man I’ve ever met and this country would be too damn lucky to have someone like you guidin’ it, your family’s past means fuck all!”_

Willing his eyes to not begin watering all over again he sniffled trying to become more presentable for an audience who couldn’t see him. Mondo was truly wonderful… Whether he was swearing or not. 

“Thank you Mondo” His own voice was softer and slightly horse after his outburst. 

_“Don’t mention it, I don’t deserve no thanks for telling you something you already know”_

A silence enveloped the call. It wasn’t uncomfortable, at least not to him, he took a further few minutes to recuperate before continuing the conversation with his friend. They spoke about easy, more casual topics from that point onwards which brought the mood back to one of warm festivities. 

It was only when the clock hit midnight that both men realized how long they’d been on the phone but even then neither minded. They stayed on as they started to get ready for bed, Taka writing a note for his father to return to as well as getting into some warm sleepwear while the biker mutter about dissembling his hair style and wiping off his makeup. 

Settling into bed they continued to talk until Taka’s eyes felt heavy, he insisted they carried on not wanting to stop the joyous feeling in his heart from talking to Mondo but eventually his body decided for him and he entered a much-needed slumber. 

He would wake to finding the biker had put the phone down for them both and sent him a message to wake to. 

_Mon: G’night Taka, sleep well_

_Mon: you owe me a good mornin’ text_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to do my best to get something out for valentine's and I dived into an old ships tag on here and found a fun challenge I want to do so the con is on -determination-


	10. New Year's Eve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's New Year's Eve! Mondo has some leadership responsibilities and Taka is only a call away. 
> 
> Some memories come back...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy it's another long one - MY bad ;;
> 
> TW Mention of Drinking  
> There's a risque part in this chapter so if you wanna skip that bit I've put an asterick "*" before it begins and after it ends.  
> I'll do this going forward for these parts.

It was New Year’s Eve and Daiya felt like king of the fuckin’ world. 

There was just something about having a bonfire in the middle of some random ass field with your biker gang that made a guy feel all warm ‘n fuzzy inside.

Though, technically he wasn’t the king anymore... Where was his successor anyway?

He scanned the scene in front of him in an attempt to pick out the man in question. This year they’d organized to have their New Year’s Eve celebration in a big open field a little way out from the city. It was stunning. A big open area with some woods surrounding it, they had all the privacy they needed and yet enough space to spread out into smaller groups to chat shit, brawl, and laugh to the heart’s content. There was a bonfire sitting in the middle of their group, its flames were created a private picture show for those who watched, and it gave out just enough heat to make the night’s breeze bearable. Overall, Mon had done a pretty decent job.

To a passer-by it may look chaotic or even disorderly but to Daiya this was home. This was his family and they were bringin’ in the New Year together.

Everyone was having a great fuckin’ time so where the hell was his baby bro?

Sauntering through the groups of men, saying hi to a few and dodging some lightweights who couldn’t handle their drink, he eventually made it to the back of the crowd. He looked over the group and didn’t see the bleached pomp anywhere amongst the guys, it was strange, normally Mon would be in there startin’ shit or putting an end to it. 

Walking to the place where they parked their bikes, it was the only other spot he could think his blood might be. It was a little further out by the road cause y’know fire and fuel tend to react badly when they’re in the same room together. And Bingo! 

As he got closer he could indeed see the man of the hour, however it seemed he didn’t notice Daiya at all, he was too busy smilin’ at his phone. Oh? Oh ho ho?

Moving quickly to, one accomplish the task, and two to prove he still had it, he swiped the phone out of his sibling’s hands getting a squark of anger before he took off running. Mission accomplished, next objective? Outrun his kid brother until he’d successfully snooped the phone for all it’s worth. Luckily, Mondo was more of a powerhouse than a runner, even with his bad hip Daiya could stay ahead of him.

Humming mockingly at the barks behind him Daiya peered at the device. Well well well! 

A picture of the same guy his little brother had been huggin’ so tightly in his room a few weeks ago was on the screen, this was the first time Daiya had seen the kid’s face properly and it was… Intense. A good intense, ‘course this would be his brother’s type. The guy had a big smile on his face and the angle was a lil’ janky for a selfie but it looked like he was having a nice time, seemed he was at home with… 

Laughter stopped the phone heist in its tracks. He knew it, he called it as soon as Mondo had mentioned the guy’s name, of course _he_ would be there. 

Turning around as an out of breath Mondo caught up with him, he was still chucklin’ as he watched the younger man try to reclaim his phone. 

“y’know the doctor told ya not to do shit like that” His bro scalded.

“Yeah, yeah” Daiya gave up the teasin’ and chucked the phone back at him “How’s Kiyo doing anyway?”

“Kiyo?” Mondo quirked a brow in irritation “He’s doin’ alright, yer don’t have to be a dick ‘bout it”

“Settle down tiger, I was pullin’ yer leg” Holding his hands up in mercy the last thing he wanted to do was set off one of his infamous meltdowns “You saw the other guy in the photo right?” 

Mondo gave him a confused look before looking back down at the phone, that’s a big fat no then. He would pick on his brother for being love blind another time. Y’know like, when he actually figured out he was crushin’ on the dude.

“The guy who looks like an older, grumpier version of ‘im? Think it’s his dad” Mondo replied.

“Yeah” Daiya nodded, the penny was spinning but it hadn’t dropped yet “What’s his last name again?” 

“Ishimaru”

“Sound familiar?” Nothing “Like, at all?” Silence “Juvie?”

“Wait…” Finally “WAIT!”

“Been awhile since I saw Officer Takaaki Ishimaru, think the last time was when I was bailing your sorry ass out” 

“HIS DAD’S A COP?” The face Mondo made was priceless. Oh, Daiya couldn’t pass up an opportunity to snap a photo of that which earnt him another growl. This was the best fuckin’ New Years.

“And!” He hooked an arm around his kid brother’s shoulders “Not just any cop, probably one of the most professional I’ve ever seen! He’s not a dick but he is super strict!” 

“For fuck’s sake” Mondo dejectedly spat at the sky.

“So, when we invited ‘round for dinner?” He teased and got a light elbow in his side. Feigning pain, Daiya retracted his arm so the other could cool off. 

“Y’think he knows who I am?” ‘Who you are or _who you are to his son?’_ Daiya corrected in his head.

“Dunno, is the younger Ishimaru the type to update his dad on everythin’?”

Mondo let out a groan and covered his face in his hands. It was so helpless it made the big brother senses in Daiya kick back in and he decided to lay off. Though he would also note this would be a bit of an overreaction to someone whose ‘only a friend’. 

“Come on man, it ain’t that bad, like I said…” Daiya bumped into his shoulder successfully revealing the other’s face again “He’s not a dick” 

“Mmm” Okay, so he still wasn’t buying it.

“Gimmie your phone” The elder extended a hand expectedly.

“What! As if!? You just ran halfway through a field with it!” Touché. 

“I’m callin’ in Big Brother Rights” 

The Big Brother Rights (BBR) were something that him and Mon came up with when they were kids so that Daiya could keep the other on the straight and narrow by effectively saying ‘whatever I’m suggesting is for your own benefit, don’t kick this gift horse in the mouth’. Daiya’s payment in this agreement was to not abuse this power… Too much at least.

Sighing, the other caved handing off his phone. Accepting it with a bow, Daiya reopened the thread with Kiyotaka and switched to the front camera, moving to have an arm once again around his brother’s shoulders he positioned the camera for a selfie.

“NO! No no no, what the fuck?” Mondo sputtered. 

“Shut up and smile, his dad’s gonna see this so look nice” 

It took another minute ‘till the younger man played along but eventually they got there. Daiya typed a quick message to accompany the photo before sending it off which got another yelp from Mon, how many was that now? 

“HEY! Y’ can’t just send it without lettin’ me vet it” 

“Too late kid, ‘sides what you gonna do? Hide until the old man keels over?”

Getting a grumble back, he knew he’d won and handed the phone back to it’s rightful owner. And as soon as he did he set off bolting again which made the younger man panic. It took all of one minute until-

“DAIYA YOU BASTARD!”

_Mon sent a picture._

_Mon: Me ‘n my bro! Say hi to your dad for us!_

_Mon: Also lookin’ good Ishi ;)_

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Mon sent a picture._

_Mon: Me ‘n my bro! Say hi to your dad for us!_

Taka studied the photo. It showed Mondo smiling with someone very reminiscent of him with his arm around his shoulders, his brother Daiya Owada! It was a wonderful photograph, both men were very photogenic in his opinion. Though the younger man seemed to shine particularly brightly in pictures, he remembered going through Hina’s social media page one night and was taken back by how striking Mondo always looked.

However that didn’t mean the older Owada was nothing to shake a stick at! Even through a still image he omitted a wise and influential air, very impressive. It was no wonder he was the previous head of Mondo’s gang. 

**-Bzzt Bzzt-**

Hmm?

_Mon: Also lookin’ good Ishi ;)_

Oh.

Oh? 

He could feel the colour seep onto his cheeks as he brought a hand to his face trying to hide his blush from no one in particular. He was stood in the kitchen alone at the moment and his father was busy watching the local news in the living room however, he hid it nonetheless.

**-Bzzt Bzzt-**

_Mon: THAT LAST TEXT WAS MY BRO_

Oh…

The hand fell from his face and the excited bubbling in his stomach turned rotten. How could he let himself get so carried away so quickly, Mondo’s brother was just, well, horsing around. Of course, he shouldn’t have expected such a statement would come from his platonic heterosexual friend… So why was he disappointed? 

**-Bzzt Bzzt-**

Hmm?

_Mon: Not that u dont look good cause ya do_

_Mon: But ya always look good_

_Mon: so ther’s no reason I would say that_

_Mon: SO I MEAN_

_Mon: wait_

_Mon: I need a minute_

_Mon: Delete my previous texts_

_Mon: Let me start over_

_Mon: That pic was me n my bro_

_Mon: You look nice in your photo with your dad_

_Mon: I’ll call you later_

_Mon: or block me if ya want_

_Mon: I would understand_

Kiyotaka had never experienced whiplash before but this steady stream of panicked texts was definitely giving him an approximation of what he thought it might feel like. It took him a fair few minutes to decipher the correct message he was meant to get from this exchange but luckily he loved a good puzzle.

Oh! 

A bashful smiled graced his lips. What Mondo meant was Taka always looked nice to him and an admission of this after a photo would only be superficial since he thought this all the time. It was a rather sweet message to convey, the excitement was back.

_Ishi: I’ll look forward to your call._

Pocketing his phone, he returned to the living room to take a seat on the couch. His father was still watching the local news but gave him a quick nod of confirmation that he acknowledged his son had come back into the room. It looked like the segment was just wrapping up and he tried to let himself get absorbed in the end of the story while he nervously fiddled with his phone. 

He shouldn’t be nervous; he was just going to show his dad a picture of his friend and pass on another hello. Kiyotaka had already told his father about Mondo countless times over the phone and since he’s been home, the elder hadn’t commented on it besides mentioning it was good he was making friends. So, he should not be nervous. 

The programme finished and the student turned his focus to his father with a smile that he hoped came across as natural. His father raised an eyebrow and that was his que. 

“Father! My friend Mondo and his brother send their hellos to you!” He announced as he got up the photo he’d been sent, careful to avoid displaying the texts within the chat as well. 

His father accepted the phone and his intense stare deepened as he analysed the faces in the picture. Kiyotaka was no fool. He was aware that it was likely the Owada’s would have had run in’s with the law and also had to serve their due punishment once or twice (maybe more..) but he believed wholeheartedly that Mondo wouldn’t cause trouble to the extent of needing law enforcement now. And by extent he also assumed Daiya wouldn’t, so hopefully his father would see this too. 

“He’s not causing you any trouble?” His father enquired, eyes still locked on the phone.

“No! Of course not! Mondo has been of the upmost support for me during my time at university” He left out the first time they met, his father didn’t need to know that misunderstanding.

His enthused eyes met tired ones. This was a tactic his father would often use at work during interrogations, where the officer would stop talking and the silence would prompt the suspect to spout further information trying to fill it. Of course Kiyotaka knew this and other tricks of the trade, but it didn’t mean he was immune to them.

“Mondo has been my best friend for several months now! We usually talk every day and I know he has been involved in past misdemeanours with his gang, but I truly believe he is trying to better himself now. With my help I’m sure we can get there together!” Information spilt out of his mouth faster than he could process it “You’ll be happy to know he often encourages me to take regular breaks during my exam periods, he’s even brought us both food on occasions, I don’t think I’ve skipped a single meal since becoming friends with him! He is also a wonderful example of masculinity! Our friend Chihiro looks up to him for good reason, he’s-“

“Okay Taka” His father signalled he could stop and handed the phone back. 

Thrown off by the interruption Taka furrowed his brows as he accepted the device. Did he not want to hear more? 

“He sounds like he needs your influence” Takaaki stood up and grabbed the mug of coffee in front of him which was now cold “And you seem happier” 

The words came out flat but both Ishimaru’s knew this was high praise from the elder. He often didn’t have much to add on subjects of heart or around the more poetic side of life, so the fact he could pick up on the change in his son’s usual demeanour from overly authoritative to a more hopeful and content one was impactful. Taka assumed his father was thinking something along the lines of ‘even if this man was a former delinquent if he was causing Kiyotaka to smile so much the least he could do was support this’ Taka was aware it had been a long time since he had been so genuinely joyous at home. 

“Thank you father!” Taka bowed from the couch he was sat on missing the upwards twitch of the other’s lips as he did. 

“No problem, sleep well son” With that the man left for his bedroom. It wasn’t surprising he didn’t stay up to see the new year in, it wasn’t a momentous moment for their family, they preferred to celebrate the day after at more appropriate hours “Oh”

He turned to see his father had paused at his door. 

“Tell them to pick up whatever trash they leave, that park is used by local sport’s teams”

“Of course!” 

A final small wave was shared and then Taka was left to his own devices. He supposed that meant his father had given him his blessing on this new friendship? 

**-Bzzt Bzzt-**

_Mon: Hey I know I said I’d ring ya later but I need yer help_

_Mon: yknow I have tht speech right?_

It took him a second or two to reacclimatize to the change of subject and company but soon the information clicked.

He did know, Mondo had been quite frankly worrying about this ‘End of Year’ speech he would deliver to his gang as the leader since December started. Kiyotaka had been supporting him as much as he could but there was only so much they could prepare for before they had to separate. 

The main concern from the other man always boiled down to: It’ll never be as good as when his brother did it.

Even though he wasn’t the most socially efficient person Taka could pick up on the fact he was the only person Mondo felt comfortable confiding this in. If he told his brother the other would dismiss it, if he told his gang they would possibly confirm it, and if he told Chihiro he would worry their estimation of him would go down. However, with Taka he knew he could confide even his darkest secrets too and the other would only try to help him grow or tackle the subject head on, well, at least that’s what Taka hoped he knew. 

_Ishi: Of course I do! The last time we practiced you did an excellent job!_

_Mon: yer just saying that_

_Ishi: Incorrect! I have told you multiple times when you didn’t perform adequately, and we worked together to correct it. Why would I lie about that occasion?_

_Mon: good point_

_Mon: :)_

_Mon: Thanks_

_Ishi: Mondo_

_Ishi: All great people feel nervous or scared before they do something incredible – If they didn’t what they’re doing wouldn’t be important._

_Mon: Bro I love it when you get all poetic_

_Ishi: I do not believe I’m wrong here Mondo! This will be daunting, but the outcome will be immensely valuable and I have every confidence you will do an excellent job. My only regret is not being there to see it._

_Mon: I wish yer were here too_

He reread the words a few times over before he replied. Much like the earlier statement Mondo had made via text this one also set off a feeling in his stomach, but instead of anticipation this made him feel cosy, even cherished.

_Ishi: Next year I will. If you’ll allow me of course?_

_Mon: You don’t need to ask_

_Mon: Right gotta get this over with_

_Mon: Will call ya ASAP_

_Ishi: Good luck Mondo_

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Ishi: Good luck Mondo_

Smiling over the nervousness building in him, Mondo clicked off the phone but didn’t put it away. Was there a way he could let Ishi see this moment? There had to be something he could do…

Daiya nudged his side from the place where they were chillin’ together. They were sat on the elder’s jacket near the bonfire, a blanket was on his brother’s shoulders and Mondo was anxiously flipping his phone in his hands. The older Owada gave him a reassuring smile before tapping his wrist, yeah it was probably about time.

Every year they would end it with a speech on the achievements they made and what they wanted to carry forward into the next year. Even with Mondo being away from the gang for the majority of the year he would keep tabs on their activity and beside having to knock some sense into some dumbasses who went over the top at the start of the year the guys had done pretty good. But that didn’t make this easy, he fuckin’ hated formal public speaking, and he especially hated this because the jackass next to him made it look so easy year after year. 

Sighing, he knew he had to get up and get it over with. Still there was one thing he held onto this time round, even though Taka hadn’t seen one of Daiya’s speeches Mondo still had a hunch that he would prefer his for some reason. He could hear the guy in his head now ‘Bro! Your brother has an incredible talent for public relations however he cannot provide the perspective and dynamics you do! You’re both uniquely efficient leaders!’. Chuckling to himself at his impression, he felt some unease slip away, if only there was’a way he could see him… 

“Hey bro” An idea came to his mind “D’ya mind doing me a favour?” 

“Sure man! What is it?” Daiya replied with a thumbs up.

“Gimmie me a sec”

The older man gave him a funny look but Mondo didn’t pay it any mind, he unlocked his phone and got to work. It took maybe a minute before Taka’s face appeared on the screen, the other looked kinda panicked to be video calling but that only made his grin spread wider. It was so damn good to see his face. Fuck they needed to video call more often.

_“Mondo! What’s the meaning of this? Did something happen? Are you okay?”_

“Do I not look okay? That’s cold Taka” He couldn’t help himself but tease, he felt giddy and didn’t even care his brother was watching them.

_“You-! You know that’s not what I meant!”_ The blush on Taka’s cheeks was hard to see but Mondo still managed to make it out amongst the poor camera quality _“Tell me what’s wrong!”_

“You said yer wanted to see it right? So I’m lettin’ ya” He darted a look at Daiya and pointed at the phone, his brother was smirking to the high heavens but Mondo couldn’t give a shit. He got a nod of confirmation and tilted the phone to get Daiya in the frame “This is Daiya, Daiya this is Taka”

“My baby brother talks ‘bout ya all the-“

“Daiya’s gonna be the camera man ‘kay?” He didn’t need to say that but he needed to say SOMETHING to interrupt his brother. 

_“Ah! Yes! Hello Daiya Owada! I wish we were meeting in person!”_

“Me too kid, blame this guy for not organisin’ it aye?” Daiya was eating this up and Mondo groaned “When we meet in person we’ll do the intros properly, how’s that?” 

_“Splendid!”_

“Yeah splendid or whatever” Mondo rolled his eyes, somehow he knew these two were gonna be a bad combination for him “I’ll switch ya to the other camera”

Setting it up, he gave the phone to his brother and got up from the spot he’d been sat in. It was now or never he guessed.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In his hands was his baby brother’s boy friend, words deliberately separated for now. Daiya let out a chuckle at Kiyotaka’s horrified expression as he positioned the camera to follow his brother as he made his way to stand in front of the bonfire.

_“Daiya! Why is there so much fire? Who did this? Do you have a marshal or anyone with a fire safety certification with you? He’s standing too close to the flames!”_

This kid was great, no wonder Mondo had taken a liking to him. Still he should probably calm him down. 

“Yeah we do” He lied “Got everythin’ under control, don’t you worry about it Ishi, just enjoy the show”

On the screen the other boy didn’t look convinced but remained silent as he waited for Mondo to begin. He was sat on what looked like a sofa, Daiya assumed he had his knees pulled up close to him and his phone was partially being held up by them. Every now and again the guy would bring a cup of tea or coffee to his lips, bringin’ the year in with a clear head aye?

“AYE!” A booming voice snapped his attention up, he was always surprised how loud Mondo could get. Daiya could shout when he needed to, but his little brother always beat him in that department “AYE LISTEN UP YOU FUCKERS!”

A shocked gasp came from the phone and Daiya had to hold back his laughter.

_“Does he refer to them like that all the time?”_

“Only if they’re lucky”

The noise from the group died down and soon all that could be heard was the crackle of the bonfire, Daiya felt his chest tighten with pride, his brother looked like a powerful leader. The leader he always knew was in there. ‘Go ahead Mon’

“I’ll let ya get back to drinkin’ and bullshittin’ in a minute, but right now I want all eyes and ears on me yeah?” A murmur made its way around the field but once it settled the younger man got what he wanted “That’s more like it, so I’ll kick this off by tellin’ ya what you guys did well, the gang grew yet again! ‘Specially in the northern part of the country, so a big hand to the guys heading that up area!”

Cheers broke out and members celebrated their accomplishments. As Mondo went through more of the gang’s triumphs, every now and then Daiya would sneak a peek at the screen. If Daiya had his hunches about his brother liking this guy he was certain Kiyotaka had feelings for his brother. He looked captivated by every word spoken and the emotions in his face were so raw and genuine, he looked extremely taken away seeing Mondo lead.

Eventually his brother was wrapping up, this had been his best speech since taking the role of leader from Daiya and it damn near brought a tear to his eye. He looked like one hell of a man standing there and commanding the men who were hooked on his words. The gang members were listening and hollering their support, they looked like a united team. 

“Thanks for listenin’ to me chat shit at you guys for half an hour, I’ll let ye get back to your conversations but I wanna end this one a personal note” Hmm? Daiya was surprised at this “I know it’s been hard on you guys being handed over from one leader to another, and I know I ain’t taken it best I coulda… I’ve even been shittin’ it over this speech for the whole month and drivin’ someone up the wall with all the practicin’ I’ve forced them to sit through” Ah, that explains why Ishimaru would mouth certain parts of the speech word for word “They said somethin’ to me before I came up here that I’ve not been able to shake out my head and I think you’d all benefit hearin’ too so here goes nothin’” 

Mondo reclaimed a confident pose and Daiya didn’t miss the smirk he shot his way, though he knew it wasn’t meant for him.

“’All great people feel nervous or scared before they do something incredible – If they didn’t what they’re doing wouldn’t be important’” Mondo looked around the group before continuing “We’re all gonna be tested by shit next year, hell every year but remember that and make the right fuckin’ decisions, that’s all! HAPPY FUCKIN’ NEW YEAR!” 

A cheer erupted from the group and the sincere smile that spread across his brother’s face made a tear fall from his eye. He guessed this is what parents felt when their kids left home or something. What a great man his brother was becoming. 

Said man made his way back to him, getting stopped a few times by gang members clapping him on the back and congratulating him. Daiya flipped the camera’s view back to the front camera.

“Ishi ‘m just gonna put yer in my pocket while I have a moment with my baby bro, that ‘kay?” 

_“O-Of course”_ The dude was in the middle of waterworks anyway so he probably needed a sec too. 

Muting the device he dropped it in his pant’s pocket, Daiya opened his arms wide for Mondo to walk into which he did without question. The elder Owada bent down a bit and wrapped his arms around his brother so he could pick him up spinning him in a little circle. Getting the order to put him down a couple times, he finally complied and dropped him down but put a strong hand on his shoulder.

“You smashed that kid, incredible job”

“Thanks man, learnt from the best didn’t I?” Mondo tried to backtrack. Not tonight. 

“Aye! None of that up there was me, that was Mondo fuckin’ Owada, YOU owned it” Daiya reaffirmed with a squeeze.

They shared a moment of appreciation for each other before Daiya fished out the phone in his pocket and handed it back.

“Y’know, he couldn’t take his eyes off ya” Flashing his signature grin, he gave him a last pat on the shoulder before he left to give them some time alone.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

‘Couldn’t take his eyes off ya’ Fuck, really?

With the biggest grin he tapped the phone a few times and got back into his video call with Kiyotaka. The other man was sniffling and his eyes looked a little puffy so it was easy to tell he’d been crying, which wasn’t surprising for ‘im.

“Did ya see it?”

_“Mondo! Did I see it?”_ The accusatory face Taka gave him made him chuckle with pride _“Of course I saw it! You did an amazing job! Better than all our rehearsals!”_

“Thanks” Well thanks didn’t really cut it did it? Kiyotaka had put up with him going on and on about this speech, helped him through a meltdown, brought him the sweetest fuckin’ present he’d had in years, and was on here listening to him shout at a field full of men on New Year’s Eve. This guy deserved a public holiday named after him for all he’d done “Thank you for everything Kiyotaka”

_“I don’t deserve any thanks for telling you something you already know”_ Mondo’s smile turned even more endearing (if that was possible) at hearing the words he had once spoken to Taka being said to him.

“We just gonna keep repeatin’ what each other says from now on?” He joked.

_“Well I promise not to sue you for your plagiarism”_

“Can’t say I won’t” Mondo teased and his partner laughed through the screen. Man, he just wished he was here.

_“Oh! It’s almost midnight! You must go join your gang”_

Mondo checked the clock in the corner of the screen and saw it was 11:59pm. Normally at midnight the gang would sloppily count down, cheer, hug, and then just proceed to celebrate till the early morning. Every year he was hyped to join in with everyone but right now?

“I’ll join in a sec, I want you to be the first face I see this year” ‘and every year’

_“You can’t be-“_ Mondo could see his own face in the small box at the bottom of the screen and as the other started to disagree he gave him back the most serious face he could. It seemed to be the answer they both wanted as a soft smile graced the other’s lips. Which in turn, made something flutter in his chest _“I’d like that”_

“10” Mondo started. The gang shouted somewhere behind him.

_“9”_ Taka carried on. He moved to sit up properly.

“8” Mondo readjusted his hold on the camera so it was straight.

_“7”_ Taka laughed at the absurdity of this.

“6” Mondo laughed with him.

_“5”_ Taka glanced away for a second, looking a little embarrassed.

“4” Mondo thought it was sweet.

_“3”_ Taka looked straight at him.

“2” Mondo looked right back.

_“1”_ Taka whispered and bit his lip. Mondo watched as he did.

“Happy new year” They said in unison.

The rest of the night was a flurry of activity. They stayed on the phone for a few minutes further until Kiyotaka insisted Mondo returned to his brother and gang, honouring the request he wished him goodbye and re-joined the group. Daiya pouted saying how he didn’t get to say goodbye which Mondo ignored, they had a few drinks and then just hung out with their guys, stories were swapped, and tears were shed as more drinks were had. 

The brothers kept it together though, they always did, often they were the shoulder to lean on for the gang members and kept everyone celebrating. They carried on like this for a couple hours but soon the night took it’s toll on them and they signalled their goodbyes, well after Mondo put the fear of god into them about picking up their trash. Local sports teams used this field after all!  


When they got back home both men began their usual night-time routine, Mondo was always quickest and was dressed for bed within a few minutes. To be fair being dressed meant a pair of sweatpants, makeup off and his hair in a bun so it wasn’t exactly the hardest task.

Walking down the stairs to the kitchen, he was on a mission to get a glass of water when he found Daiya doing the same but he hadn’t got changed yet.

“Yo, you not sleepin’ or somethin’?” Mondo quizzed.

“’Cause I am” Daiya yawned as if emphasising his point “Just got m’hair down and makeup off and needed a drink”

“Mmm” Mondo filled a glass as he listened. He was already half asleep.

“What’d ya do to your lip? Ya got red on ya…” Daiya pointed out. Why did that sound familiar?

Oh yeah, bringing a finger to his bottom lip he frowned seeing a speck of red on the skin as he pulled it back.

“Bit my lip as I was driving back” Stung like a motherfucker too, he fucking hated that hill coming back into town.

“Ouch” Daiya winced making his way out of the kitchen “Don’t poke it too much or it won’t heal”

“Yeah yeah” He followed his brother out and up the stairs until they separated into their bedrooms. 

Once in Mondo hit the lights, took a swig of water before putting his glass down, and then dropped onto his bed. He was so fuckin’ tired, he was gonna have the best sleep of his life tonight. It took him a few minutes to get comfy but as soon as he did, he was out like a light…

…

*

Mondo had drunk way too much. 

Fuck. 

He felt wobbly, did gravity get stronger or somethin’? Was his student house always this wavey? 

Letting his head tilt back against the headboard of the bed, he couldn’t get his mind off of something. In fact, all night it had been bothering him and with each drink his mind tempted him more and more to voice it. Beer and boldness go hand in hand after all. Finishing off his can he heard the bedroom door open and in returned part of his issue. 

“Can I take my” Kiyotaka stumbled a bit, he had also drunk way too much “Waistcoat and” He pulled at the cape on his shoulders squinting at it for a minute “Thingy off?” 

God he was cute sometimes. 

“I dunno, CAN you?” Mondo laughed at his own dumb joke. 

Getting a pout in response, he made a note to edit out the ‘sometimes’ in his previous statement. Kiyotaka took off the two articles of clothing and folded them, because it was Kiyotaka Ishimaru, before he hung them over the back of Mondo’s desk chair. Once done he did a little stretch which the biker greatly appreciated watching, and then moved to the bed and crawled back into his previous position next to Mondo. Something about seeing the other man crawl towards Mondo on his bed gave him the last piece of confidence he needed. 

“Hey Taka” Mondo started, looking decidedly in the opposite direction of Taka. Okay, so not that confident. 

“Hello Mondo” Taka playfully replied. 

“How’d ya know you were gay?” 

“Oh” A surprised noise came from his friend, yep confidence slipping dramatically “Well… I always knew? I would see attractive men and get the reaction you no doubt have over attractive women” 

“Yeah, but how’d you know it wasn’t a phase or that ya just liked looking at ‘em?” Mondo now looked back at him and winced at his own words “Sorry that was a shitty way to put it wasn’t it?” 

Kiyotaka’s face was flushed, most likely from the drinks but this conversation wouldn’t be helping matters. Not that he thought his own face would be doing much better right now. 

“I’m more appalled at your language” Taka joked and his guilt eased a bit “I know you meant no harm, media would often depict being homosexual as something you could grow out of or switch on and off when we were children so though your wording is wrong I understand how you got that impression” A sad accepting smile appeared on Kiyotaka’s face and Mondo decided he didn’t want to see that face on Taka ever again. It took a beat or two before he started answering his first question “Well when I kissed females I felt nothing, in fact I feel like I was doing something wrong” Red eyes now hit his own and Mondo felt time stop for a moment “But when I kissed men I felt excited, wonderous, and that I wanted to do it over and over again” 

Swallowing for no reason in particular, he moved to sit properly for the next bit. Fuck, was he really going to do this? He watched as Kiyotaka picked his drink back up and took swig, he ran his tongue over his lips catching any loose drops and yes, Mondo was going to do this. 

“Can I kiss you?” 

“What?” Crimson eyes widened as they looked at Mondo, it was as if he was trying to gauge the reasoning behind the request from look alone. 

“I… Umm… I’ve been thinkin’ I might like guys… For a while now actually” It wasn’t a lie but he decidedly left out the part that Kiyotaka had been the one holding the flag for Mondo’s fantasies involving men lately. 

To be fair to himself, he would on most occasions immediately stop such fantasies or dismiss them saying to himself it was unfair to use dream Taka like that but there were some instances when a scenario would enter his dreams or as he finished jacking off the chick he was thinkin’ about would be replaced with a more familiar face. 

Seeing his friend hadn’t moved since he asked, he started to panic, shit he fucked up didn’t he? He always did this! Fuck fuck fuck. What now? Should he make out that it was a joke? No, that’s shitty. He jus— 

"Okay” 

The fuck? He said yes? 

“Wait, you’re saying yes?” Mondo said exactly what was in his head, his filters were long gone by now if that wasn’t obvious enough. 

“I am” The other man now moved to sit up straight and face Mondo “It would be e-easier if I moved there” Kiyotaka pointed at his junk, WAIT WHAT—Oh, no… He was just pointing to the space in between his legs… Wait! That’s still too close! 

Okay, fuck, he said yes. Mondo was prepared for no. Actually, no he wasn’t, hence his earlier panic. Then was he prepared for yes? Of course he fuckin’ wasn’t! Why did he ask something if he wasn’t prepared for either response? Well shit, fuck. 

Kiyotaka seemed to have a stronger resolve than himself, now that he had agreed to kiss him he started to lead the situation and gently parted Mondo’s knees so he had a place to kneel in front of him. The sight of this alone made Mondo feel like the room’s temperature had risen several degrees and to fix that issue he had a great (drunken) idea. He sat up a bit and removed his white tank top. He heard a gasp as he did this which Mondo’s ego welcomed wholeheartedly since it was also having a crisis of confidence. 

Once he settled back against the headboard he noticed Kiyotaka’s gaze was now fixated at his exposed chest. In Mondo’s humble opinion, if Taka was gonna to be all hot and know what he was doing then Mondo could play his trump card which were his abs. He was very aware this part of him got a lot of attention so really, he was only levelling the playing field. Right? 

A shiver ran up his spine as a pale hand met his tanned middle and started to delicately trace the defined lines there before moving up his chest, it felt exhilarating and it was only the slightest touch. Letting his gaze follow the hand he watched as fingers danced on his skin, they eventually pressed down more firmly letting the palm grab at his skin, they weren’t even kissing yet and he knew his breath was becoming unsteady. 

“You have an incredible body” His partner mumbled, Mondo couldn’t tell if that was meant for him to hear or if Taka was even aware he said it but it made his blush spread down his neck either way. 

Once the hand reached his collarbone he looked back up at Kiyotaka who was looking at him with his eyes half lidded. At the best of times those eyes would demand the person looking into the gave them their full attention and right now the biker didn’t think he could look away even if he tried. 

“Do you still want me to kiss you?” How could he even ask that? 

“Yes” Mondo uttered with a breath, he hated how needy he sounded… 

With that Kiyotaka closed the gap between them and their lips met for the first time. A new desire filled Mondo as he melted into the kiss, it was chaste at first but that wouldn’t give him what he wanted. He moved his own hand to the back of his friend’s head and angled them to deepen the kiss which threw off Taka’s already shaky balance and he tumbled into his chest breaking the connection between their lips. 

“Sor—” 

His apology was cut short by Kiyotaka immediately moving back up to reclaim his lips and they both made a satisfied noise at the revived contact. The longer the kiss went on the more confidence they added to their movements, so much so that Mondo licked at the other’s lips. As their tongues met a moan escaped one of them, Mondo really couldn’t tell who but what he could tell was Kiyotaka was very good with his mouth which he would make a mental note on for future reference. 

Hands found his chest again, one went to prop Taka up by pushing down on him and the other was mapping out his torso. On the odd occasions they broke for air Mondo was welcomed back to reality by seeing a very flushed and breathless Kiyotaka looking down at him. Hot and bothered suited him. He could get used to seeing him like this… 

“Fuck, you’re so hot” Mondo admitted with a whine as he felt fingers rub one of his nipples. How did he forget the hand on his chest? 

Oh yeah because he was picturing Taka riding him, that’s how. 

At his admission Kiyotaka smirked before bringing his lips back down but didn’t kiss him. He was teasing him and Mondo loved it. 

“You swore” Taka chuckled as he continued to play with Mondo’s chest. Fucking hell. 

“Come on Taka—Ahh” The fingers now coyly pinched him “Fu—Damn” 

“That’s still a—” 

Nope. Not listening to another scalding he flipped them over so Kiyotaka was on the bed and Mondo’s body covered him which got a small yelp from the other man. It was his turn to take control, he used a hand to prop himself up over his partner and used his free to grab the others chin. 

“Not another fuckin’ word Kiyotaka” The other man shivered at that and Mondo took another mental note. Though with how drunk he was he wasn’t sure how helpful these notes were going to be… 

Bringing his lips down to meet his counterpart’s he felt arms wrap around his neck pulling him down until their bodies were flush against each other. Taka’s body perfectly merged with his own and neither man could help but groan as they started to get noticeably more excited. 

Fuck. 

Mondo reluctantly pulled away and looked down at the man below him. He was gorgeous, his face, his hair, his body, his hands, everything made his heart beat faster and he wanted nothing more to indulge himself further… But he didn’t know what he was doing and this wasn’t the right moment. 

If this was going to happen one day it wouldn’t be when they both tasted of vodka and when Mondo could actually string together more than 5 words. 

“We… Should stop here, right?” He didn’t mean to ask but he would be lying if he didn’t want to be convinced otherwise. 

Kiyotaka looked up at him with those beautiful eyes and gave him a small smile before nodding. A hand brought his face a bit closer and Taka kissed him on both of his cheeks, nose and forehead. He was too cute. 

“Yes, we should” With that they separated. 

He let out a heavy sigh as he reluctantly removed his body from trapping his… Friend, they were still friends. This was just drunken fun, experimentation. They both wouldn’t remember it in the morning with the small bar’s worth of drinks they had in their stomachs so it didn’t count. Thinking about this too much was making his head and heart hurt. 

He checked his phone and saw the time was 2:34am. Damn they should get some sleep. 

“Do you have juice?” Taka asked. That was not the reaction he was expecting to get after a make out session with a close friend. 

“Erm… Maybe?” Did they? Leon’s always buying random shit. 

“Can we go look?” Taka was now getting off the bed and looking at him expectantly “We should intake sugar and fluids to make sure we lessen the hangover” 

“Yeah okay, but then we should get some sleep” He followed suit getting off the bed “To y’know, lessen the hangover” 

Getting a roll of the eyes in return he chuckled, he had been worried that what they had just done would have ruined their relationship however it felt like nothing had changed. Because nothing had, right? 

*

…

FUCK.

FUCK. HELL. BASTARD. SHIT. DAMN.

“FUCK!”

That wasn’t a dream.

He had kissed his best friend. 

His drunken horny ass had kissed his hot best friend and he only remembered it now. 

“FUCK! Fuck! Fuck…” 

“Aye!” He heard Daiya’s muffed voice come through the thin wall “If you’re gonna have a breakdown could ya do it in more sociable hours?! Some people are tryin’ to, y’know, sleep at 4 FUCKIN’ AM”  


Mondo moved a pillow over his face and screamed. Because, well…

Fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ekkkkkk! Halloween memory - Also confident Taka is something I adore so yep


	11. Makoto's Birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A day out for the group after returning from the holidays!

Chihiro had heard Mondo yelp three times in total. 

The first time was when a spider had entered his peripheral vision as it descended from the tip of his pompadour, he insisted it took him by surprise and he was not in fact scared of arachnids.

The second was when they were playing baseball on one of the fields next to the campus. The taller man was already irked that the group had chosen Leon’s suggestion over his own so when the redhead ‘accidently’ hit the ball directly at the biker’s crotch. Well, Leon had to stay at Sayaka’s for the rest of that term…

The third was when they saw Taka for the first time after the Christmas break. Chihiro had invited Mondo over and at the same time Sakura had invited Hina, who innocently brought Kiyotaka with her. Chihiro was surprised to see him but that was all, however when she welcomed the biker into her living room where an unassuming politics student was sipping his glass of water, well Mondo all but screamed. The taller man then immediately mentioned he needed to go back to his house and dragged the tiny programmer with him refusing to answer any of their questions.

Since then, there had been this weird air between the two, when pushed Mondo would flip out and when Kiyotaka was asked he just seemed clueless. Chihiro felt bad for the guy. It was obviously affecting him, his usual determine attitude had become dull, and more often than not she found him wistfully staring at the back of the biker’s head. She might have known Mondo for longer and felt a degree of loyalty based on that as well his solidarity for her secret but this was really getting to her! She hated seeing either of them so sad.

One thing she hoped was that a big group activity would put an end to this issue because Mondo would finally have to interact with Taka, but even now as they celebrated Makoto’s birthday the biker seemed to always be on the opposite side of the room to his usual best friend. 

They were currently in the local aquarium, Kyoko had chosen this location first on the agenda, it was a lovely idea since there was so much to do and look at. Even for Chihiro, she found the use of technology in the exhibits captivating! It was oh so clever! After this the plan was to go to the arcade next door where Byakuya had rented out a small area of games for them to enjoy. Makoto looked overwhelmed by the gestures, but the affluent student waved it off. Chihiro’s concern though was whether Mondo and Taka would stop sulking by then…

Looking around the space she tried to pick them out from the crowd. The room they were in had tanks decorating the walls and one big chamber with larger fish in the middle. There was also a small shallow tank near one of the walls which had staff members overseeing children who were interacting with the creatures that were appropriate. At this point she noticed that their group had split up into smaller fractions. 

The infamous trio of Makoto, Kyoko, and Byakuya where currently looking at the tank which had different species of crabs in it. The birthday boy was reading off the facts from the information card near the display and it looked like Byakuya was trying hold his tongue as Kyoko gave him a levelled look. At least Makoto was having a fun time.

Next, she saw the redhead and spiritualist talking to one of the staff members next to the shallow exhibition. It appeared that Leon and Hiro had found the turtles, after some back and forth with the worker the lady tiredly bent down to bring up one of the turtles which Leon started excitedly petting and Hiro fist-pumped the sky… 

Once she managed to pull her eyes away from that scene, she spotted Hina and Sakura who were reading some of the information displayed on the walls. Or well, Hina was enthusiastically reading the information to Sakura as she politely nodded along. With how fast the smaller woman was speaking Chihiro found it hard to believe Sakura was able to process the information being given to her. Though if anyone could, it would be her.

Celestia, Hifumi, Toko and Sayaka were looking at the big display in the middle of the room in wonderment. It had a variety of fish swimming around in it and just as one member of the small group would point out something they saw something else would happen on the other side of the tank. Sayaka was the most vocal, with Hifumi following, Toko was a bit jiggery around the more intimidating fish, and Celestia marvelled at the aesthetically stunning ones.

Continuing her search Chihiro saw Junko and Mukuro already walking off to the next exhibit, to be honest she didn’t expect them to spend too long here. She assumed they were more excited about going to the arcade after, so most likely they would race to the finish and go ahead of the group. Junko in particular was fond of games, no doubt she would scout out the ones she could rig in advance.

And eventually Chihiro found her two trouble cases who were looking at two different displays on opposite sides of the room. 

Right! She could do this.

Walking over to Taka, who was the more pliable of the two at the moment, Chihiro stopped next to him where he was examining an exhibit around lobsters. She was about to say something until he interrupted her.

“Did you know lobsters don’t partner for life? I always thought they did but apparently they only have a sort of monogamous bond for a few weeks before they part ways…”

Okay… This was going to be harder than she thought. 

“Taka, have you spoken directly to Mondo?” She asked in the softest way she could.

“He won’t let me” The politics student turned to her with watery eyes “I don’t know what I did wrong?” 

“Well you have to confront him then Taka! I know you can do it, it’s better to fight for something then do nothing as it disappears don’t you think?” Motivation wasn’t Chihiro’s strong point and she was immediately faltering “S-Sorry if it’s not my place! I-I just want you two to be happy again!”

The tears seemed to disappear and Chihiro saw that as a small win. She could definitely do this! 

“Didn’t you cheer him up the last time he was sad? Leon and Makoto said you did an excellent job!” She hoped her encouragement was working. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Taka looked from the small programmer to the back of the head of his closest friend. He still referred to Mondo like that despite this communication issue they were having. It was just a communication issue wasn’t it? Maybe Chihiro was right.

Ever since they had returned to university after the holidays the taller man had been avoiding him and was constantly dismissing any opportunities to spend time together. Something was amiss… 

With how closely and intimately they had spoken during the holidays Mondo’s current actions felt like a bucket of cold water being thrown at him. At one point, or more, he had even questioned whether his feelings might be more powerful than mere friendship during the break… Maybe he had let his thoughts get ahead of him. 

Would he give up on their relationship so easily if he didn’t fall from such a high? Could this be warping his perception of how to correct the problem? Should he challenge him as critically as he usually would?

Turning back to see Chihiro’s sweet, unwavering smile Taka decided he would indeed fight Mondo head on with whatever his issue was. Kiyotaka Ishimaru was not a quitter ‘you only reap what effort you put in after all!’.

“Thank you Chihiro!” He shouted with a bow which startled some of the other people around them “I will rectify this problem immediately!”

He saw a little bit of worry seep into the smaller person’s features, but he didn’t have time to think about that now, right now he had to salvage a friendship!

Walking with all the determination and purpose he could muster he made his way over to Mondo, he stopped just a few steps away, just close enough so that he could see his face. The biker was worrying his lip and staring intently at the exhibit in front of him. Kiyotaka didn’t like thinking the other was dealing with a problem he wasn’t aware of, he thought they were learning to confide in each other more so this felt like they had taken several steps back. 

“Mondo!”

“AHH!” Mondo barked and took a step away “What the fuck man! Why ya sneakin’ up on people?” 

Maybe he could have done that with a bit more tact, however that was not his concern. 

“Why are you being so distant with me? Are you overthinking something?” 

“What? No! What gave ya that idea?” He could tell Mondo wanted those words to come across as intimidating but with the way he was staring in the other direction, his presence was anything but frightening. 

“If you’re not worrying about something then tell me what fish you were just looking at?” Taka moved to stand in front of the case and moved a hard over the information card.

“What?” Mondo furrowed his brows seeming to be thrown off by the question, once he realised what he meant he stared at where the tank was as if willing Taka to go transparent “Umm, angelfish” 

“Incorrect, you were looking at starfish” Taka pettily revealed.

“They’re not even fishes! You mislead me!”

“They are! They have fish in the title!” The shorter man yelled “And you should know what you’ve just spent 20 minutes looking at!”

“Actually! They’re not fish! Look, it says here!” Mondo grabbed his hand to move it out the way and pointed at the ‘fun fact’ on the plaque which read: ‘Starfish aren’t actually fish! They’re sea stars! Isn’t it nice to think the sea is full of stars just like the sky?’

“Oh” Mondo hadn’t let go of his hand.

“Yeah! Exactly, I remembered it because I was like ‘well that’s fuckin’ stupid’”

As they both dumbly stared at the small sea stars in the tank, Kiyotaka decided to remind his counterpart that he was still holding his hand with a cough and quick look down. The taller man reacted like it was an electric shock and jumped back, that hurt Taka more than he wanted to process right now.

“Mondo” Taka weakly muttered, they were the only ones from their group still in this part of the aquarium “I don’t want to lose you, whatever I did… Please tell me!” 

Kiyotaka was used to people leaving him, whether it was because they found him infuriating or they learnt about his family. Mondo was the first person who not only encouraged his intensity and didn’t care about his family’s history but also, genuinely wanted to get closer to him knowing these things. At least that’s what he had assumed until now.

This wasn’t the end was it?

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

‘If only it was that simple’ Mondo bitterly thought to himself.

He was being a massive dick right now and he knew it. But how could he say: 

‘Hey, so, we made out on Halloween. Do yer remember? Because I sure do, I remember how you looked, I remember how you felt, I remember how you laughed as I swore, I remember your hands on my body, I remember your mouth, and most of all I remember how right it felt. Like I wanted to do it over and over again, y’know how ya described your awakin’ to being gay?’

Well, he could say it like that. But then he would have to follow it up with:

‘So, now I know I’m bi, thanks for that. But I don’t know if I wanna kiss ya again just ‘cause you’re a good-lookin’ guy. If that’s all then I don’t wanna do it because that’s fucked up to use you like that and I can’t fuck up someone so pure and that means so much to me. It would be easier if we pretend nothing happened so that’s why I didn’t just come out ‘nd say it, I’m secretly hoping ya don’t remember Halloween. Because then we can just stay where we _were_. I’m worried if ya spend more time with me that you’ll have the same fuckin’ flashback and then that choice gets taken away from me. 

Either way I’m scared. I’m so fuckin’ scared of losin’ ya, ironic that I’m losing you anyway, huh?’ 

But he didn’t say any of that. What he did do is pull the other man into a hug so he didn’t have to see his hurt expression anymore. It took a moment or two but eventually he felt arms gingerly wrap around him returning the contact. He couldn’t keep doing this to Taka, a hug would only solve so much for so long. What he needed to do was figure out how he felt and then just man up and actually do something about it. He was Mondo fuckin’ Owada, he could do that. 

Once he felt he’d given himself sufficient enough of a pep talk he pulled away and looked at the other man dead on. He was about to explain that he’d stop being weird with him but Taka cut him off.

“Mondo, I don’t know what is going on and you obviously don’t want to talk about it” Kiyotaka took one of his hands in his and Mondo fought the urge to pull it back “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to but I’m here to support you, if you want to forget about it let’s do just that and enjoy Naegi’s birthday, we can worry about whatever is on your mind later. As a team!”

The smile the smaller man gave him was everything he had grown to adore about Kiyotaka Ishimaru. That smile believed in him, it showed him that even though Mondo thought he was being pathetic Kiyotaka didn’t. Kiyotaka saw something in him that he wasn’t going to give up on.

“Yer right, as always” He tried to give a weak smile back and it must have worked because his friend gave his hand a small squeeze before he let go.

“Anyway, where to next? We should catch up with the others!” 

As if nothing had happened the pair began to walk off together into the next part of the aquarium. It looked like it was one of those underwater tunnels, the ones where the fish could swim over the top while people walked around underneath. 

**-Bzzt-**

Stopping to check his phone he saw there were new messages in the birthday group chat they had set up for the day.

_K Kirigiri: Since most of us have split up, lets plan to meet at the exit at 3pm. We’ll then make our way over to the arcade._

_Hina: Sure thing! Me and Sakura will see you there!_

_Leon: I’m down_

_Leon: Me and Hiro are seeing how many animals we can pet_

_Hiro: We’re up to 3!_

_~Junko~: Whatever slowpokes! We’ll see you in there, me and Mukuro are already done with this place!_

_Sayaka Maizono: Me and Celestia will bring Hifumi, Chihiro and Toko with us! We’re still all together! ^^_

It looked like they should be the next to update the group. He turned to ask Taka if he was already replying but almost dropped his phone when he saw him.

Taka was staring in awe at the fish swimming above him in the glass tunnel, the look on his face was just so happy and enthused that it took his breath away. They way Taka would just let himself embody emotions so unabashedly always surprised Mondo since he was always hiding any feelings which would hurt his intimidation factor. He had to of course, he had to command respect and most people would reign in their emotions to an extent to fit in socially anyway. 

But Taka didn’t. He just let himself feel things so confidently, in fact the only time Mondo saw him lessen this side of himself was when he thought he did something wrong. Like how he had approached Mondo before. How could anyone as pure as him ever think he was the problem?

Dragging himself back out of the thoughts he was getting lost in Mondo looked at the other man again, he was still contently watching the fish swim around. Not wanting to interrupt, he returned to his phone and replied for them both.

_Mon: Me and Taka will see ya there_

_Chi: :)_

Putting the phone away again he saw his friend was now looking at him and signalling him to come over to one side of the tunnel. 

As he made his way over to him a few things ran through his head. 

He definitely thought Taka was a good-lookin’ guy after that lil’ episode he had just had. How could he not when the guy was radiating so much confidence? It also didn’t help that Mondo had seen him naked before… His body was, well, pretty fucking nice. 

The way he’d been ignorin’ him and shit was almost as bad as losing him completely, so he needed to cut out the bullshit he was doing. He’d rather Taka had a fit about them making out than Mondo fucking up the last however much time they had left together.

And now it was just them, alone, wondering around an aquarium for a few hours… Could he class this as a practice date? Like a test drive of a vehicle? It could help him decide how to proceed in this situation. 

Deciding with the little amount of convincing he needed to see this as a practice date he approached Taka who started eagerly explaining all the different fish he knew about. Mondo wasn’t really listening, he was more focused on how close he was standing next to his ‘date’. He never noticed just how well they matched.

Taka was the perfect height for Mondo, he was shorter but not by much, Taka would be able to rest his head on his shoulder with ease and Mondo wouldn’t have to bend too far down to kiss him. His hands were a little bigger than Taka’s but his were softer, when he’d held them before he noticed how nice the smooth skin felt against his tough palms, holding his hand felt ni--

“Mondo, are you listening to me?”

“Huh?”

And then there was his eyes. They were just so damn emotive. Admittedly at the moment they looked a little peeved but even so they still made his heart beat faster.

“Sorry” Mondo muttered as he rubbed the back of his neck and looked away “Was just thinkin’ ‘bout somethin’”

“As I mentioned before, we’ll tackle whatever is on your mind together once you’re ready” A strong hand squeezed his shoulder.

Pulling himself back into the present, he had spent too much time thinking over the last few weeks so he would now just enjoy the moment with his increasing attractive friend. 

They walked through the rest of the aquarium with a comfortable atmosphere surrounding them, they stopped a few times to admire some exhibits as well as take photos. Or it might be better to say Taka insisted they document their day so he ended up taking photos of them both, some made the older student blush because it really did look like they were on a date. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So far his mission to cheer up the other man was going swimmingly! It was rocky at the start but now the biker had laughed a couple of times and the photo’s Taka was collecting showed two men having a wonderful educational journey! Even if Mondo did look distracted in some of the pictures…

Today was shaping up to be a lovely occasion after all. He felt a little guilty they weren’t spending it with Makoto and the others but another part of him greatly appreciated the time alone together, it felt natural. They should go to more places together, just the two of them. He felt his cheeks flush at the idea but soon distracted himself with the next activity they were coming up to. 

Most educational establishments had some sort of movie attraction and this aquarium was no exception, there were rows of seats facing a screen which seemed to be playing a film on loop. The video looked to be about a wreckage which was explored by deep-sea technology, as it finished up he indicated to Mondo they should sit down for the next viewing. The other man seemed uninterested but followed Taka to the back row anyway. 

Kiyotaka settled for some seats next to the aisle closest to the exit so they could leave if asked to by their group chat, normally he wouldn’t permit phones being on during a movie however since they were here for a birthday it was better to stay in contact in case plans change. Lights dimmed and he got comfortable ready to focus on the information being presented to him, though try as he might he just couldn’t pay attention to the screen.

In front of them there was a couple, they were more enamoured with each other than the film and in the gap between their seats he could see their hands entwine on the joint armrest. Fingers lace together, thumbs tracing small shapes on the back of hands, the movements interrupted his concentration and eventually his mind started to wonder. 

What would holding Mondo’s hand feel like? Would they do something similar to this couple? Lacing their fingers together would be different, Mondo’s were broad with small scars dotting them whereas his own were slender and his nailed were precisely cut. He’d felt the other’s hand before when he’d held them, the skin was rough and he could tell how strong the other was from hold alone. Taka’s were softer but had some small parts where the skin was hardened, mostly around his fingers and knuckles due to the exhaustive writing he’s done over the years. 

As he pondered the thought for longer than he should he then saw the couple further disregard their surroundings as they began to kiss. Normally he would chastise such behaviour but here he wasn’t of the position to police such matters. Plus, with his thoughts starting to drift from innocence he felt he wouldn’t have the complete moral ground here. 

Feeling improper to watch such a private moment he darted his eyes elsewhere and caught sight that Mondo had also seen what was going on in front of them, his cheeks were reddened and eyes were wide. He must have felt eyes on him because his gaze next met Taka’s. Kiyotaka thought seeing the pair in front of them was embarrassing but staring at his friend as they both had flushed expressions from seeing the scene was something else. That ‘something else’ was hard to figure out. His heart was beating faster and he could swear he saw Mondo’s eyes flicker to his lips as they looked at each other.

What would the other do if he leant over and kissed him just as the boy in front of them did? Would Mondo kiss him back, bring a hand to the back of his head, run his fingers through his hair—Why did he get a sense of DeJa’Vu from that thought. 

Seeing the taller man unintentionally bite his bottom lip made him intake a deep breath in anticipation, nothing was going to happen though, so he tried to calm his body down from reacting any further.

**-Bzzt-**

With a mixture of relief and disappointment he broke the eye contact they were having to check his phone and specifically Makoto’s Birthday Celebration chat.

_Leon: Yo where you at **@Kiyotaka Ishimaru @Mondo**_

_Leon: Its 3:05_

_Leon: Yooooooooour late_

_Hiro: Tut_

_Hiro: tut_

_Hina: Mondo stop rubbing off on our precious boy_

_~Junko~: Ooo~! What did we miss? ;)_

_Makoto: You can just meet us there if you want!_

_Makoto: don’t rush!_

_Mondo is typing_

Looking back at his partner he found him typing out a reply and a brief look at his expression told Taka it was likely to be full of vulgar language. Not wanting Mondo to resort to such behaviour he tapped his arm and indicated they should begin their journey to the exit, Kiyotaka felt a degree of guilt and responsibility that he hadn’t noticed the time due to… His thoughts. 

Getting a frustrated sigh from the other man, he smiled when he noticed the other had put his phone away without sending the message. They got up and began to leave to find the others, and if Taka explored the idea that Mondo did indeed look at his lips before, well that was his own business.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With a long yawn Makoto sat down on one of the cushioned benches a little way from the group. After they collected everyone from the aquarium they had come here to the arcade, it had been around 2 hours since they had arrived and he was beat! Today had been too much, he told Kyoko and Byakuya just as much but also expressed how thankful he was. Because he really was enjoying himself!... Just next year they should do something less taxing, maybe just the three of them and then meet the others later.

The aquarium had been really interesting, he learnt a bunch of new information and it was fun to watch the other’s excitedly talk about the different exhibits. He had been a bit worried when he noticed Mondo and Taka seemed to be having a disagreement, but they must have patched it up since then because they were glued at the hip once again. Though Mondo was still a bit jumpy whenever he was around Taka, it wasn’t for Makoto to involve himself but he would keep tabs on that situation.

Speaking of those two, when they got here he played a basketball hoop shot machine with them, somehow he’d won due to getting one of his basketballs in the lucky slot. He put it down to beginner’s luck but that made them insist he play another couple games with them. He ended up winning them all even the one where Hiro accidently hit him on the back which meant he got two lucky shots… The pair spent too much money on that game after that.

Once he escaped them he played pool with Leon, Hiro and Sayaka. They did doubles with Leon claiming Sayaka and Makoto ending up with Hiro. Makoto wasn’t particularly competitive so he approached the game with a relaxed ease, it was only when the other team found out that Hiro had played pool significantly over the time he spent in university that this game also got passionate. They had won of course, in fact three times due to the couple demanding rematches, surprisingly it was Sayaka who instigated them. The birthday boy just put this once again down to dumb luck.

After that he joined a game of whack-a-mole with Hifumi and Celestia, both of which were surprisingly good at that game. Maybe even frighteningly good. But once again, lady luck stepped in and though the other two were much more skilled at the game Makoto got several more ‘gold’ moles appear in his game which scored twice the amount of points… He could quickly see a pattern here and once he won he made a subtle escape while Celestia shouted at Hifumi. 

Next he found Kyoko, Byakuya, Chihiro and Toko all playing darts. It looked like Toko was in the lead, he was puzzled why she was on the scoreboard as ‘Syo’ but he really didn’t have the energy to get into that right now. He mentioned to the group he’d just like to watch but no one seemed to agree with him. Soon he found himself getting bullseye after bullseye, even on the shot he purposely threw off to the side… It had hit the bullseye on the next board over.

Making yet another daring escape he wound up with Junko and Mukuro at the claw machines. He thanked the gods this wasn’t another competition, the two girls were collecting a small army of teddies and when he had a turn he also managed to get one. The biggest one. He wasn’t exactly a fan of the black and white bear they seemed so obsessed with but they wouldn’t accept his donation so now he had a bit scary bear with him.

Luckily. And he actually appreciated this bit of luck. When he bumped into Hina and Sakura who were eating some snacks at the small refreshments area they weren’t planning on playing any games so he managed to relax for a fair bit with the couple. He even managed to snag a double fry from Hina’s fries! Now that was lucky!

Stifling another yawn he back looked over the group from where he could observe them in his spot alone with a warm sleepy smile. The arcade had been fun but he couldn’t wait to get into bed.

“Yo” 

Looking up to his side he saw Mondo fidgeting. Makoto hadn’t noticed he was missing from the group in front of him, he really must be sleepy to miss a big guy like him. 

“Hey Mondo, trying to get some time away from the group too?”

“Somethin’ like that” The gruffer man muttered and took a seat next to him.

Though they were housemates Mondo and him rarely hung out together. They could get on, and Makoto found the other nice in his own aggressive way but they never actively sought each other out so this felt a little suspicious. He was about to ask but as if reading his mind Mondo broke the silence.

“I need to ask ya somethin’, got a problem” Mondo rubbed the back of his neck “I think”

He thought he had a problem? Why was he coming to Makoto then? Wouldn’t it make more sense for him to talk to Taka or Leon? They were much closer to him than Makoto was. Still he wasn’t one to turn away his friends in need so collecting what energy he still had he tried to focus.

“Umm, sure! Shoot!”

“I think—” The biker dragged a hand down his face which muffled his words.

“Sorry, I didn’t really get that” 

“I SAID!” Mondo’s shouting caught them both off guard and he immediately tried to find a normal volume again “I think I have feelin’s for someone…” 

“What!” It was Makoto’s turn to shout which got a glare in return, he gave back an awkward smile with an apology.

Mondo had never had a girlfriend while at university. In fact he hadn’t brought a single girl back to their house that Makoto knew of! For awhile he suspected the other man might not have feelings like at all but during one of his brother’s visits in their first year that theory had been shot out of the water. Apparently back at home he’d had a few fleeting ‘relationships’ but they were always short-lived or ended up with the girl running off either in fear or because they used him. It made Makoto feel bad for his friend, so the fact he was admitting he might have found someone new brought Makoto’s energy back at full force! 

“Who?” He asked without thinking.

“I ain’t gonna say! I just need yer help figurin’ out if I do like ‘em” Mondo rushed out in a panicked voice.

“Okay, well, I don’t think you would be here asking me this if you didn’t like them a little”

“Yeah but what if I like ‘em just as a friend?”

“Hmm” Makoto put a finger to his chin as he thought “Would you kiss them?”

“I already have” Mondo muttered look at the floor.

“What!” Again Makoko got a scowl but come on! “Well, you already know you like them then?”

“I s’pose” Mondo looked embarrassed like he didn’t realise how silly this sounded until he said it out loud “How do I tell ‘em?”

“Umm, you just tell them? If you’ve already kissed I’m sure they might even expect it?”

“They don’t, they don’t remember the kiss” The other worried his lip looking away.

“How?” That didn’t sound good and his concern must have shown because Mondo held his hands up in mercy.

“Long story but nothin’ creepy” 

Choosing to trust his friend there Makoto let it go and thought about how to reassure the biker on the situation. 

“If the tables were turned what would you say?” Makoto challenged.

“Huh?”

“Like, if it was them confessing to you? What would you say back?”

“Dumb question, I’d obviously return their feelin’s”

“Yeah but imagine worst case, say they confess and you don’t feel the same way. What would you say back?” Makoto explained further.

“Err hmm” Mondo looked like he was thinking hard trying to visualise the situation “I’d say somethin’ like ‘I don’t feel the same way but that doesn’t mean we can’t still be bros—‘” 

Wait…

Mondo’s eyes widened as he realised what slipped out mirroring Makoto’s own. ‘Bros’… There was only one person he knew Mondo called bro besides his own brother.

“You like Taka?”

“Fuck—Yer can’t say a word, got it?” The taller man confirmed in a hushed tone. 

“Yeah of course!” Makoto shouted and winced at the glare he got “But Taka?”

“What of it? You sayin’ somethin’?” Mondo looked offended.

“No no! Of course not!” Once again he had to correct his volume “I just didn’t know you liked guys?”

“Me neither” The biker let out a long breath.

“Wait…” Makoto remembered a piece of information from earlier in the conversation “You kissed!” That time he didn’t apologise for raising his voice “When?”

“None of yer fuckin’ business” Mondo scowled but then looked remorseful “But yeah, we were drunk and he doesn’t remember… I didn’t either till New Year”

Ah so at the Halloween party. Makoto hadn’t seen Taka drunk besides that night so it wasn’t hard to narrow down, the politics student insisted it was only appropriate to get tipsy during certain social events and even then only to an respectable level. Makoto didn’t know there was a respectable level of drunk but apparently it’s around the ‘will make out with a biker’ level. Anyway, right now he needed to be a good friend.

“Going back to what I was saying, you’d say that back to him right? The whole we’re still bros thing. So, don’t you think he’d say the same to you”

“Mmm” Mondo seemed to mull that over “Just feel like it would be easier to keep things as they are y’know”

“But can you do that now you know you like him?”

“Dunno”

“You can see it this way, if you confess and he accepts you’ll think about how much time you wasted worrying and if he declines you’ll think about how much time you wasted when you could have been looking elsewhere” Makoto held up two hands as if weighing up the two points he was making “It’s scary but you should tell him, if only to not waste anymore of your own time”

Mondo looked at him with surprise and to be honest he was also kind of shocked he came out with something like that.

“But either way, you’ll still have us, alright?” He added.

It was cheesy but Makoto felt the guy needed to hear that right now. He had a habit of running into problems head on thinking everyone was against him.

Movement from further across the room caught both their attentions. Kiyotaka was waving over to them from the pool table with Chihiro who was also beckoning them, they wanted to play a game. Makoto shook his head, he wasn’t tired anymore but he had a lot of information to process right now. Looking at Mondo he saw the biker smile back and motion that he’ll be right over, he stared at Taka a little longer than needed.

Mondo got up and muttered some thanks to Makoto before getting ready to leave the bench. 

“Can I ask you another question?” Makoto gingerly asked.

“Sure” Mondo said, probably feeling a little bit indebted.

“Do you honestly think Taka wouldn’t return your feelings?” 

“Yeah” The other replied without hesitation.

“Why?” 

“’Cause I’m me and he’s him” Mondo replied like it was the most obvious answer ever.

Makoto stared dumbfounded as Mondo made his way over to Taka and Chihiro who beamed at him welcoming him back to the pool table. He didn’t miss how Taka and Mondo’s hands brushed when the shorter man handed him the pool que, nor did he miss Mondo’s subtle blush. He doubted he’d miss any of these little signs going forward either.

If they needed it, he would wish them luck. 

So he didn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Makoto deserves a vacation man. 
> 
> Thanks for all the comments on the fic so far! I had a major writers block lately and reading them over really helped ;o; I just wanted to put a little thanks at the end here.


	12. Valentine's Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Valentines! Truth be told I don't know what to put here. 
> 
> The girl's house has a suggestion for the event and the boys are bad with words?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm once again coming to you to say SORRY THIS IS SO LONG -sweats-

Honestly, Byakuya couldn’t tell you why he decided to join this society. Maybe it was boredom, maybe it was the intrigue to see this odd cocktail of talents mix, maybe it was due to his fellow economics student insisting it would only enhance the flavour text of his resume (not that he needed one of those anyway).

Maybe it was because the Captain and Vice-Captain inspired him to better himself every now and again. But honestly, Byakuya couldn’t tell you. 

Tuning back into Ishimaru rambling on about the achievements of the exceedingly strange group he paid a vague attention. He hated to admit it but since he was poached into joining he had slowly become slightly invested in the outcomes of the society, he was spending his precious time attending these meetings after all.

“And I would like to celebrate Hina’s success with her nutritional group! Since beginning the small support group she has manged to guide several students to the appropriate campus resources to aid in their understanding of their relationship with their eating habits!”

A small applause started in the lecture room which the prodigy joined in on, even if he did clap quietly… And under the table.

“Next a reminder of Miss Oogami’s self-defence classes! They will be changing their days from Tuesdays and Thursdays to Mondays and Wednesdays due to practice exam sessions beginning! Please communicate this out amongst your social groups, there will also be an official communication from myself available on the University’s website!”

“Our university has a website?” The ‘clairvoyant’ enquired.

“Yeah man” The punk replied.

“How did you apply here if you didn’t know it had a website?” Makoto asked.

“Please everyone! Save your personal conversations until after the meeting!” Ishimaru resumed control of the room “Our next and final topic for today’s session is that of valentine’s day! The girl’s house has put together a wonderful suggestion! Miss Maizono, please take the floor!” The Communications Officer announced from the podium he occupied and dutifully offer the stage to the singer who gave him a polite nod before continuing.

“Thank you Taka! Me and the girls were thinking we could all have a movie night this year! That way we all have plans and no one is left out! What do you think?”

“Yes yes yes!” The swimmer chirped even though she was a part of the supposed group who put together the idea.

“T-that sounds nice” The computer science student agreed. 

“I’m game!” The eldest grinned and held up two thumbs-up. 

“Wait!” The ruffian yelled as per his usual behaviour “What if we had plans or somethin’?!”

“You had plans Mon?” Maizono asked barely containing her intrigue. Ishimaru next to her did nothing to hide his interest in the statement either.

“E-Err! Not me!” The brute pitifully faked innocence “L-Leon!”

“What!” The redhead and his girlfriend balked in unison.

Further squawking broke out and the heir tuned back out again. These moments were only so entertaining for so long, it was interesting watching them try to trick, deceive or hide information from each other but rarely did the puzzle stimulate him enough. Sometimes he would throw his own red herring into these situations to see if they could figure it out, bring the cream top the top so to say. However, most of the time it would be Makoto or Kyoko who would figure it out.

“We could use our house?” Asahina offered.

“That would be too cramped” Kuwata complained.

“We could use Byakuya’s” Byakuya shot his gaze to the speaker, her lilac hair hid most of her features from him, but he could still make out a faint smile on her lips “His apartment has a spacious living room which would fit us all” 

“I don’t remember offering my establishment at any point” He spat out with a glare. 

“You didn’t but you have the most suitable arrangement for the group, don’t you also have a projector?” Meeting his stare he could see the challenge in her eyes, she had planned this in advance, he could tell from the way the other members of the girl’s house refused to meet his eyes. 

“What makes you think I would-“ 

“Miss Kirigiri! We cannot force a member of our society to host an event he doesn’t wish to!” Ishimaru butted back in.

“Then where we gonna goooooo” The musician drawled from the desk he had sprawled out on.

 **-Bzzt Bzzt-**

Elegantly getting out his mobile he raised an eyebrow at the notification, messages from Kyoko.

_Kyoko: Fun and games aside. You know it would make Makoto happy don’t you?_

_Kyoko: I’m sure you forgot valentines was coming up and are lacking an appropriate gift are you not?_

_B Togami: I can have any number of items arrive in time for the day._

_Kyoko: Would any of them please him like spending time with his friends would? Money can’t supplement affection, or have we taught you nothing yet?_

Staring at the device as if it was the one offending him he shot another look over at the woman he was conversing with. Her stare was thoughtful, collected and controlled. He’d lost, though he found himself minding less and less losing to her.

“You may use my apartment for this movie night” He conceded cutting off whatever nonsense Ishimaru was spouting. 

“W-Wha-… Are you sure Mr Togami?” The student questioned. 

“Are you deaf?” Byakuya disinterestedly replied as he pushed up his glasses. He better not regret this decision.

“The fuck you say-“ 

“Muzzle your pet Ishimaru” Byakuya cut off the student’s bodyguard who growled in response. He was too easy to rile up. 

“So it’s decided, we’ll have a collective movie night at Byakuya’s apartment on the 14th February” Kyoko brought the attention to herself “I will send out the address to everyone tonight, please bring your own refreshments and any comfortable clothes if you wish to stay over”

So, the offer was being extended for the whole night? Probably provoked by his insults. Fine, he would retire to his bedroom and lock the door when he needed to sleep so he didn’t care if they wanted to sleep on the floor of his living room. It would be possible to get some futons or the like available in time for the event…

“Bedding will be provided and you may order food to the apartment” He mentioned as he stood up. Byakuya needed to leave the room before she managed to coerce him into anything else.

As he began to walk out he heard the room begin talking again, he honestly didn’t know why he joined this society.

“See ya Byakuya!” As the door behind him closed he heard Makoto’s voice just make it over the crowd. 

**-Bzzt Bzzt-**

_Kyoko: Yes, thank you Byakuya._

Okay, maybe he had an idea why he joined this society.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mondo made his way down the hallway grimacing as his bare feet slapped against the cold tiled floor. He never did like coming down this part of the gym, he wasn’t one for the pool usually, it was cramped and it often took him a decent amount of time to get his usual style put back together. Not to mention the men’s locker room didn’t have a decent spot to do your hair or slap eyeliner on so it was just a hassle really.

Though today he wasn’t here to swim. He was here to collect something, so he was currently fully dressed in a white V-neck, usual black baggy pants and minus socks which were in a locker with his shoes so he didn’t dirty up the floor for the actual athletes. Hair was in a bun because he was driving which now meant he had to wear a helmet, plus he’d be staying over tonight so he couldn’t be arsed having to take his hair down in someone else’s place.

“Excellent Hina!” A bright masculine voice boomed. Ah, there was his something.

Kiyotaka had mentioned he would be helping Hina with her timings before the movie night at the rich prick’s place so Mondo had offered to drive him down. Hina was then gonna stay to catch Sakura after her late evening class and they would follow on later. He was a bit early so he decided to make his way to the pool to let Taka know, it would be quiet at this time so he wasn’t worried about interrupting anything.

Making his way around the corner and into the swimming area he made out two figures in the water. Hina was swimming a lap and Taka was watching her from the side of lane with a timer in hand as he tread water. She was doing pretty good from the limited knowledge Mondo had of these sports. Basically, it translated as she was going fast and it didn’t look like she was choking so, pretty good!

Letting them finish up this sequence he quietly took a seat on the bench next to the wall, he wasn’t sure when he became so polite but he had no doubt the guy being a human stopwatch was a massive factor in it. 

After another minute or two Hina finished up her latest attempt and clung to the side of the pool while looking expectantly at Kiyotaka. 

“Amazing Hina! You shaved off a further 3 seconds!” He cheered as he moved to join her showing her the timer. 

“YES!” She squealed “I am so pumped!”

“Indeed! You’ve done very well today!” 

“Ahem” Mondo chose this moment to awkwardly announce his arrival. The pair turned at the sound and surprisingly both of their faces lit up, he assumed Taka would be happy to see him but didn’t expect Hina too… Maybe it was the endorphins or some shit.

But thinking about it, Mondo had deepened his friendships within the weird group lately, normally he’d just confide in Chihiro and his housemates, for the latter that was just because he had to talk to them on a daily basis. Since Taka had joined the group he supposed he’d become more approachable? More patient? Just saw more potential in everythin’?

“Hey Mon!” Hina gave a wave which he returned.

“Mondo!” Taka shouted and swam over to the side of the pool closest to him. Mondo went to meet him halfway and squatted down to get closer to his level “I’m not late am I?” Concern flooded his features.

“Kiyotaka Ishimaru bein’ late? Can’t imagine it” Mondo teased with a grin “I’m early, you two can carry on I just thought I’d come tell ya I’m ‘ere”

“We just finished so you can have him back now!” The peppy young woman gave him a thumbs up and he looked down to check Taka agreed with this statement. 

The man looked over at Hina and then back at Mondo with a smile.

“I guess I’m done here, let me get out and shower, then we can make our way to Mr Togami’s”

“Ya give him too much respect”

“You don’t give him enough” Taka retorted but faltered “Though he does make it hard”

“I know right? What a dick”

“Seconded!” Hina shouted.

“Language! Both of you!” Taka exclaimed with an appalled expression; however they just shared a snicker.

Huffing the man in the water swam over to Hina who was making her way to the ladder so they could climb out. Mondo stood back up and moved to patiently wait a few steps away from the exit, he gave a look over his shoulder as he watched the other two.

As Hina got out of the pool she took her hair out of her swim cap and shook it up. He hated the idea of wearing those things, he briefly remembered wearing them as a kid in the swimming lessons Daiya insisted he took and they were a ball ache. Thanking the gods he didn’t have to wear them anymore when he chose to swim, he usually just tied his hair back in a loose bun, he wasn’t swimming to break records anyway.

Once she was out, Taka soon followed and if Mondo took the opportunity to appreciate the view he wouldn’t tell. Just like their sauna competition he noticed the lean muscles of the other man, with the water on them they stood out even more than usual or maybe he was noticing them more now that he knew he wanted to be more than friends with the guy. 

As Taka stood up properly he spoke to Hina for a minute or two. When he ran his hand through his hair and slicked it back Mondo was sure he whined a little at the sight, he looked really good. Just everything about him was appealing, the way he held himself, the way he smiled as he spoke with his friend and the way his body was so masculine but with a slight curve that made Mondo want to run his hands down it.

He stopped his ogling when the duo turned and started to walk over to him, he was sure Taka caught him staring.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was very impolite for Mondo to stare at Hina like that, surely he knew how unwelcomed it was to gawk at someone without their explicit permission. It wasn’t like Hina had insinuated he could do such a thing; in fact he was pretty sure her and Miss Oogami were an item so that made it extra immoral! He would have to scold Mondo later.

Now, if Mondo was looking at him like that. Well Taka may have let it slide since he was sure his actions lately could of insinuated he _might_ be okay with such a thing. Kiyotaka didn’t like being indirect. He believed in being bold and keeping things simple, however subjects of the heart are another matter, though he didn’t understand it he recognised people approached these situations with more caution so he was trying to follow that guideline.

For a while now he had admitted to himself he liked the biker more than a mere friend. It took him longer than most to understand these feeling and ensure he wasn’t just clinging to him based on the fact Mondo was more receptive to Taka than others were. No, he was sure he liked Mondo in a romantic sense because he thought about him during nonsensical moments.

He thought about all of his friends when something specifically relating to them came up, if there was a swimmer on TV he would think of Hina, if there was stock plummeting he would wonder if Togami would be affected, if there was a festival planned he would wonder if Sayaka or Leon would one day play it. But for Mondo? Everything reminded him of Mondo.

Songs of two people against the world would bring images of them together into his mind, as he cooked dinner he wondered whether Mondo would like it, when he laid on his bed he felt the empty spot next to him and thought about how nice it would be to have it occupied by him. It made no sense to imagine Mondo in any of these scenarios and yet here he was. He liked Mondo in a romantic sense.

“So, me and Sakura should be there in an hour tops! She’ll finish in another quarter of an hour” Hina pulled him out of his thoughts and he’d thank her if he could.

“Do you want us to wait with you Hina?”

“Don’t be silly Taka! I’ll get ready and then go sit in the back of her lesson!” She smiled reassuringly at him.

“If you’re sure” Taka nodded as they met Mondo and began walking back to the locker rooms.

“I’ll text ‘em we’ll be there in half an hour bro” Mondo pulled out his phone and began fulfilling his statement “Hina, want me to mention you and Sakura should be there 7ish?”

“That would be great, thanks Mon!” Hina beamed and then wiggled her eyebrows at Taka for some reason “He’s been a good boy lately”

“What’s that meant to mean!” The biker shouted.

“Just that since our sweet boy here came along you seem to be, I dunno” She patted Taka’s arm as she said the word ‘boy’ and then hopped to the girls changing rooms “on your best behaviour” 

She closed the door before Mondo could counter her statement and he choose to huff instead. Taka mentioned he would go shower, change, and then meet him at the entrance. The taller man agreed to the plan and it wasn’t more than fifteen minutes before they were walking out the building toward Mondo’s motorbike. 

He was a bit nervous. He hadn’t ridden a motorbike before and it was a little daunting even if he knew the driver was especially skilled like Mondo. As they got to the vehicle the other man took his bag with his gym clothes and overnight things, he manoeuvred some of his stuff over and everything fit quite well. 

“I know yer all safety conscious so I brought my old helmet for ya”

“You’re not going to be wearing one!” He challenged.

“Did I say that?” Mondo replied raising an eyebrow in a cocky fashion when nodded towards the handles of the bike where another helmet hung. Oh.

“Oh” 

“Yeah, ‘oh’” Mondo teased and helped Taka put on the helmet in his hands.

It was odd to wear a full face helmet, it was heavy and once it was on he couldn’t help letting his head tilt from side to side feeling the weight. This got a laugh out of his driver who then promptly knocked on the side of the helmet.

“You alright in there?”

“This is very strange” 

“Aye well don’t blame me, blame the guy who made me wear ‘em” Mondo then went to pick his own up “He’s a real nark” 

“He sounds very responsible!” Taka puffed out his chest instinctively catching onto the fact Mondo was talking about him “You should listen to him more”

“I listen to ‘im plenty” The other chuckled and straddled the bike, he then patted the seat behind him “Now get on here nark” 

Pouting and realising his companion couldn’t see it Taka followed the order getting on the bike behind Mondo. His heartrate picked up as he realised this was going to happen, the other man must have noticed his hesitancy because he reached back grabbing his forearms and guided them around his waist. He was now thankful the helmet hid his flustered expression and the way he gulped.

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep to the rules ‘nd regulations like a good boy” As Taka squeezed close he heard Mondo’s words stutter “A-and if ya hold tight just like that you’ll be fine”

“I trust you” Kiyotaka said, not just referencing the ride.

“I know yer do, don’t let go of me, ‘kay” Kiyotaka hoped he wasn’t referencing just the ride.

“Okay”

As the other prepared to set off Taka caught their reflection on the back of a black van. They looked rather intimidating like this, like a couple in one of those action films. Like a couple… That thought made its way around his mind until he felt the vehicle kick into life, automatically he held onto the other man tighter.

Once Mondo had them on the road he found himself slowly adjusting to the ride. It still worried him to an extent but he became confident enough to sit back a little and appreciate the journey. Air rushed around them creating a sense of speed which he hadn’t experienced before, it was exhilarating and made him feel powerful. It was easy to understand why his friend enjoyed this form of travelling, it was much more absorbing than other methods, it felt wild and free. To do this with others would only add to this sense of euphoria. Maybe one day he would be able to ride with Mondo and his gang.

The ride didn’t last too long and before he knew it they were pulling into Togami’s apartment complex, and that was as in he owned the entire building of flats. 

When they met in the Economics course they both attended the heir had mentioned that he brought out the building when he chose to move here seeing it as an opportunity to explore property management. The apartments in this building were decorated with the latest modern décor and filled with the newest technology, it was far too excessive in Kiyotaka’s opinion but it wasn’t his place to tell other’s how to spend their money.

The location was ideal. It was far enough out the city that you could see it in the distance but also close enough that you could get back into it with ease, proven by their short journey to get here.

Mondo kicked up the stand of his bike and Taka took that as his que to get off the vehicle. Once off he removed his helmet, he ran a hand through his hair, the headgear would take some getting used too but it was a small price to pay for safety. 

The other man followed suit and took the helmet from his hands to place back on the handles of the bike.

“So what’d ya think?”

“I enjoyed it and can see the appeal” Kiyotaka chose his words precisely “Your driving was well controlled; I can see where your years of practice have benefited you”

“Hmm, I’ll take that” The biker shrugged and began to sort out their bags “You’ll have to ride with me more often”

“That would be nice” 

Once the other man had organised the small amount of luggage they had accumulated he began to carry it in insisting Taka walked ahead and got the doors. Using the information Kyoko had sent prior it didn’t take long for them to get into the elevator to take them to the top floor of the building. 

Finding the door to their friend’s apartment, he assumed they were friends at this point even if the upper-class boy acted the way he did, he knocked on the door promptly. Togami reminded Taka of a cat in a way. Not one to give affection but would roam around your feet once they got used to you. Soon the door opened and they were welcomed in by Kyoko with a slight smile.

“Welcome both” She moved letting them in.

“Thank you Miss Kirigiri!” He bowed and entered the room hearing Mondo mumble his thanks behind him.

The apartment was extremely extravagant, no wonder Kyoko had offered it as an adequate space. As they entered the living room he noted that it was big enough for classroom of people to sprawl out in and for the evening the furniture had been moved next to the walls so that futons could be spread out for the group. 

To the left there was an open plan kitchenette which was spotless and decked out with the latest appliances, on the counter there were several takeaway items which had been arranged. To the right there was a projector screen which was playing the end of a film with a couple embracing in what seemed to be an airport. 

Besides this there were a few doors dotted about, one was next to the kitchen and was slightly open revealing a bathroom, there was another on the same side as the projector which was shut, though Taka could assume it hid a bedroom. Finally there were sliding doors on the other side of the room and lead to what looked to be a balcony, he had briefly observed from the outside that each of these apartments seemed to have one. 

Kiyotaka was overwhelmed taking in the accommodation but soon felt a small tug at his wrist and saw Chihiro had appeared at his side. They were wearing their hoodie and leggings combination he had seen before.

“Hello Chihiro!” He greeted with a smile which they returned.

“Hey Taka! Hey Mon!” They turned to greet both of them “I picked out some futons at the back for us”

“Wonderful! Lead the way!” 

Following the smaller person to their spot he saw everyone bar Sakura and Hina had arrived. Most were laying in their or their friend’s spaces, Leon was smoking on the balcony, Byakuya was nodding at something Kyoko was saying in the kitchen, and besides that everyone was in a comfortable position. 

Once they had got to their places for the evening, he retrieved his bags from Mondo and sorted out some items in them.

“You’re not going to wear that all night are you Taka?” The programmer innocently mentioned before flustering “N-not that you can’t of course! S-sorry! 

“It’s quite alright Chihiro! I merely wore this on the way over, I will change in a moment” Taka confirmed as he rummaged through his bag to find his change of attire. 

Currently he was wearing his usual white outfit and boots but this wouldn’t be appropriate for the night. He didn’t have much ‘loungewear’ as Hina had put it but he did own a pair of grey sweatpants and a short-sleeved white top he used for more manual tasks like moving or painting on the rare occasions he had to do them. 

Mondo had positioned himself on Taka’s bed so he could chat with Chihiro. Chihiro had chosen the futon nearest the wall, Taka had taken the middle, and Mondo would be on the opposite side to Chihiro. Once he found his outfit he went to change in the bathroom.

He was excited for his first sleepover! Admittedly he heard they were more common when one was younger but this group didn’t seem to do anything in the usual fashion. This would be a great opportunity for him to bond with the group and explore their favourite films which could be a great insight into their personalities. He would undoubtedly deepen his bond with everyone in the room! 

Emerging from the bathroom he felt a few pairs of eyes scan him. It was rather distracting so he quickly made his way back to his two comforts, though once he got their they both stared too. What had gotten into them all?

“Do I have something on my face?”

“N-no! You look-!” Chihiro started waving their hands in front of them in innocence “W-we’ve just never seen you in something so casual! You look good!” 

Pouting, he was a bit worried, he knew the shirt was a little tight on him since he had brought it when was he was younger and since then he’d built the muscle in his body up so it probably clung to him more than it should. 

“Really!” They tried to reassure him “Don’t you think so too Mon?”

The biker was somewhat rosy in the face and was looking away from him rubbing the back of his neck, the way he was clenching his jaw made Taka wince. Putting his other clothes into his bag he then took a seat next to his taller friend on the futon.

“Err YEAH!” Mondo grimaced at his own voice “Y-you look okay man! Don’t worry so much!” 

The volume of the other man got a few more stares directed their way but a glare from the same man quickly solved that issue.

“If you say so!” Though he thought they were humouring him he let the issue lie, there was no point ruining their night over a fashion faux pas. 

As things settled the trio enjoyed some food together as they conversed over their week’s activities. Mondo had been preparing for an exhibition his course was putting together, Kiyotaka was thrilled he took his advice and called the vendor they met during the winter period to hone his skills further, it was always good to practice and build connections with others whenever possible! Chihiro was looking into their voluntary work assignment and considering asking the Aquarium whether they would let them work in the technical side of the establishment, he couldn’t begin to imagine all the benefits they would bring to the building! And finally, Kiyotaka mentioned his work in the local communities trying to line up opportunities for their society to aid in like organising support in food banks, working on local initiatives, and organising talks in educational centres.

Once Hina and Sakura arrived the society settled in for another film to begin, some still talked in hushed whispers but most paid attention. Well, certainly him and Mondo did, Chihiro had brought their laptop with them and was currently enhancing some sort of assignment they were working on. 

The film chosen next was about five kids who were attending detention. The premise sounded like something he shouldn’t find interesting however the plot was very good and even though the characters had ended up there their individual stories and comradery was captivating. But, there was one part he didn’t like, it was too close to home and he knew he’d need to step away once it began. He had seen this film on a prior night with Mondo and it took them both by surprise when he started panicking, luckily the other man excelled in calming him down. When the story approached that moment he didn’t need to say anything when he got up to go to the now vacant balcony.

As he made his way out into the cool night air he felt some calm return to him. Just the air and view helped him collect himself, it reminded him there was a world outside his head. Kiyotaka leant against the railing with his arms crossed, from here he could see the parking space below them and then beyond that there was the city in the distance. Pockets of grassland broke up the patches of buildings and he had to admit to the landlord the view was exceptional, rent regardless.

“You okay?” A familiar voice asked.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Closing the door behind him, Mondo moved to stand beside his friend but gave him enough space in between them in case he still needed a moment. 

“Hmm, yes I’m feeling better taking some time away” 

Of course the moment when the smart kid in that film had a meltdown would be a lot for Kiyotaka. There were so many parallels you could see there, he remembered when they had watched the film together for the first time and how that plot point had warped the other’s face as he related to the character but didn’t understand why. Mondo know knew to keep an eye on him around that part of the film, and he didn’t miss that Kiyotaka did something similar for him when the delinquent in the film had his episode. 

As they admired the scenery together all that could be heard was the dull sounds of the mentioned film from inside and the rumble of engines from cars passing by. At this time the sun had just set and there was a navy colouring to the sky as it began to fade to black, the moon had already appeared in and if you looked hard enough you could spot a star or two pop it’s way to the front.

“Have you ever had a valentine Mondo?” 

Choking on the spit in his mouth, he looked over to his friend with an arched brow. Why did Taka wanna know that? 

“Erm, no I haven’t” He answered truthfully.

Crimson eyes met his with curiosity and he got the idea the other wanted further elaboration. 

“I ain’t ever had a girlfriend long enough to get to Valentines” He muttered breaking the eye contact “’Sides that, I haven’t been given anythin’ from anyone on the day”

“I see, have you given any of your own?”

“I—!” Mondo stuttered feeling his cheeks light up with colour “I-I’ve tried once or twice but I always end up screamin’ and scaring the chick away”

“Do they not find your loud proclamations romantic?” The other asked with genuine interest, it was almost like he thought they were silly not to think what he was suggesting.

“Guess not, what’s this all ‘bout anyway?” Mondo’s question seemed to turn the tables and Taka now looked away with a frown, though it wasn’t directed at Mondo it was as if it was directed at himself. Like he didn’t know why he was asking either “What ‘bout you? You ever got a valentine or gave one?”

“I haven’t received one nor ever felt the need to give one out” Another clear precise reply came out and the taller man copied Ishimaru’s earlier behaviour and waited for an elaboration, he seemed to get the hint “I’ve never been in a romantic relationship, I mentioned I had relations with another person but it was a purely educational pursuit”

“Poor guy” Mondo chuckled at the answer. The other was ruthless without realising it sometimes, but his chuckling dissolved when he thought about their kiss. Was that just educational to him too? If so, why did he laugh and smile? Why did he kiss Mondo’s face after? Why did Mondo feel some fear fill his gut?

“I don’t believe so, I made sure my request was explicitly understood” Taka continued not catching the other man’s change in attitude “The desire to do these things out of romantic closeness is new to me, I’ve not experienced this before”

‘New to me’, ‘not experienced _this_ before’… Does this imply Kiyotaka is now having these thoughts? Does he want someone romantically?

“You…” Mondo started speaking before he was prepared with an actual question which meant the conversation fell flat and Kiyotaka now looked back at him. They both had a warm blush on their cheeks.

“I—” They both said in unison as the door behind them opened. 

“What are you plebians discussing?” A familiar, and frankly unwanted in Mondo’s opinion, voice called out as Togami waltzed in between them and took his place at the balcony looking out in front of him.

That fucking-.

“We were talking about romantic efforts” Kiyotaka innocently answered and Mondo groaned knowing the prick would eat this up.

“Oh really?” Though Taka asked the question Byakuya darted a look at the biker with amusement “Well don’t let me stop you”

“Well it’s hardly appropriate to continue on a conversation you’re not a part of Mr Togami-“

“Leave out the honorifics Ishimaru” 

“Very well, I have another question” Mondo worried at that, Taka’s questions though naïve were deadly “I’ve heard from the girls it’s common to have a type, is this true? Do you either of you have a type?”

That seemed to throw off the prodigy and Mondo relished in the reaction for as long as he could before he had to formulate a response. 

“Err yeah, some people tend to go after the same kind of person over ‘nd over” Mondo replied.

“That seems redundant don’t you think? If you know the combination didn’t work before why would you try the same formula again?” Taka puzzled.

“That’s not how human’s work man” Sighing Mondo leant back so he could see both of the guys he was talking to.

“I don’t understand” Kiyotaka genuinely looked helpless. 

“What he’s saying Ishimaru, is that though the people might match in some areas they will react differently, it’s more of a filtering exercise, it should increase your chances of compatibility if you do reflect on the results of your failed relationships and correct the mistakes” Byakuya explained as he pushed his glasses up.

This was fuckin’ stupid. For two smart guys how could they think they could boil stuff like this down to a pattern or code? Love isn’t a math problem.

“Right, no, listen ‘ere both of ya” He directed attention back at himself “You just like what ya like, you might like smart people ‘cause you find ‘em interestin’ so you keep goin’ after them. Or you might like passionate people ‘cause it excites ya. Some people might do the same thing with looks like only datin’ blondes or whatever” Mondo wasn’t great at explaining shit but he felt he was closer to the right answer than Togami was.

“Hmm” Raising a finger to his chin Taka looked deep in thought “Can I have some examples?”

Shit.

“If you must” Togami began giving Mondo a pitiful look as he obviously saw the panic rise in his features “I prefer people who can stimulate my mind, I wouldn’t bother with someone who couldn’t keep up with me. I’ve also found myself enjoying hearing the thoughts of someone who is socially intelligent, seeing them operate a room or their relationships is intriguing”

“Hmm so you like people who show outstanding abilities in intelligence of some sort, whether it’s academic or socially?”

“Correct, I would also reiterate the criteria that they need to be able to keep up with me, high intuition and judgement skills is a must” The host confirmed “So Ishimaru, do you think you have a type?”

Mondo was a little taken back, he expected he’d go next so Taka had a better idea of what he should mention but he wasn’t about to interrupt. His anticipation about what the other would say had his heart beating faster, subconsciously he started tapping his fingers on his side trying to get rid of the excess energy building up.

“I suppose, as you mentioned, I like people who have a stronger social understanding than myself, I believe they can teach me ques I might struggle with which will help me converse better with others” Okay Mondo would say he could fit in there “I also like people who put effort into what they do, I don’t appreciate those who expect or are given things without effort” Still on track, Mondo wasn’t given shit without hard work “I would also like a partner who had a similar intensity to myself, I’ve heard from others I can sometimes overpower situations. It would be nice to have someone who could one, challenge me when I get like this and two, understand my energy” Mondo could do that! 

“How about physical attributes?” The heir asked.

“Oh! Well, I would prefer a partner who is taller than me and someone of equal if not stronger strength” 

“Nothing more detailed?” Byakuya prodded further.

“I don’t believe further specifics are needed, I find a variety of appearances interesting”

“Fair enough, well done Ishimaru, you seem to understand types well enough now” Though he was praising the other man it sounded like Byakuya was praising himself. He then turned to Mondo with a bemused expression “Now you Owada, it’s only fair after all”

“Errr” Eyes were now on him and Mondo looked away at the road “Well, I need someone smart but not socially, academically, it’s pretty cool to have someone who can teach ya something” Taka was really smart “Someone whose strong and believes in themselves, not lookin’ for someone who won’t call me out on bullshit” Taka constantly challenged him to think differently “And they need ta excite me-“ He winced at how he worded that, if Leon was here he’d be in fuckin’ stitches “Like I wanna walk away from spendin’ time them pumped up” Taka could enthuse mud.

“And physically?” 

He didn’t bother looking at Byakuya to know he was smirking.

“Shorter than me, strong, pretty eyes and a nice smile” Mondo quickly ran through with a pout. He wanted Taka to figure it out but he didn’t want to say it, had he done enough? He was a smart guy, surely, he could put it together right?

“I see, they sound quite dedicated” The heir stated.

“I think I’ll head back inside” Taka piped up looking away at the floor. Huh?

Before either of the other two had chance to add anything else Kiyotaka gave a polite bow and left to return inside. There was a brief increase of sound when the door opened and once shut silence settled again, Mondo stared in bewilderment, what just happened?

“The fact you left out the gender of your perfect type won’t be lost on him, you mentioned he was smart did you not?” Why did Mondo feel like Byakuya was going to make him feel like an idiot next “However all the other compliments you mentioned about him… I wonder if he believes he possesses these qualities?”

Damn! He was right!

“It’s always better to be direct in these situations and that’s not a quip at how you’re handling this believe it or not, it’s just advice” Byakuya added and looked him dead in the eyes. It was odd to have someone he was so used to fighting with fill in the gaps he needed “He takes things at face value. You may think he’s the smartest person in the room but in his last economics essay he received a 2nd which is just above average however his housemate Toko has received nothing but 1st or rather the highest grade you can get since the year started” 

Realisation hit Mondo faster than he could process it and he closed his eyes tilting his head up at the sky. He’d convinced Taka he wasn’t talking about him without realising it. 

“Being direct isn’t a nice to have, it’s necessary for someone like him who doubts his positive traits, or rather abilities, so easily” Byakuya continued to explain and Mondo paid attention as the other man spoke, this felt like his brother telling him off but better spoken “Also your requirements physically match several of our friendship group, personally I could of assumed you meant the swimmer Asahina” At that he darted his eyes to the young woman inside who was excitably talking to Sakura “That is, if I didn’t have eyes for the last few weeks”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Byakuya watched the brut— The other man with a keen interest on how he would react next. Having found out his efforts had been wasted and in fact pushed him away from his goal of having a relationship with Ishimaru, would he lay down and take it? Would he have an outburst and destroy himself? Or would he heed the advice given to him and correct the other’s misconception? It was entertaining to behold, even if he was now rooting for the pair.

The two were an interesting combination, fuel added to a fire really, they had the potential to take the world by force with their separate influence. Ishimaru had the general public who naturally followed a clear guidance and were law-abiding citizens whereas Owada had control over the demographic who wished for a better tomorrow they had no control over, the downtrodden and underdogs. Truly together they could unite society… If they achieved their full potential that is and right now they were still bumbling fools, still the heir had a glimmer of interest in the duo in case he could one day he use their influence for his own advantage. 

“I’ll fix it”

“And, pray tell, how will you do that?” Probing blue eyes met daring purple ones.

“I’ll tell him what I mean” A strong statement from a man who looked like he could be knocked over by a gentle breeze right now “… Soon” Ah, there’s the catch.

“Be clear when you do” The blonde student stated again, if this was going to work he needed to keep this information in mind.

He only got a nod in reply and the other started towards the door. Surprisingly he paused there and gave short look over his shoulder.

“Thanks Byakuya” With that the biker exited the balcony leaving the young heir all alone.

‘Hmm? So the oath did have manners?’ he thought to himself. As bemusing as this situation was he did hope the two managed to get to some sort of an agreement. Lately the delinquent had become much more palatable and Ishimaru’s outbursts on campus were less frequent, there was no misunderstanding that the two had an effect on each other and it benefited the populous of the campus, Byakuya included. 

Though if this worked out he would have to pay his dues to Kyoko. How that woman worked out everything out before it happened was incredible, he could admit that… Even if it had a bit of jealousy in it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are _so close_.
> 
> Also the film they're watching is The Breakfast Club which is phenomenal - If you've seen it you'll know the characters the pair associate themselves with.


End file.
